Hambagu, Japanese Hamburger Steak

📝 Ingredients

• 400 g 5 % fat minced beef + 200 g minced pork
• 1 brown onion (about 120 g)
• 40 g breadcrumbs + 60 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 egg
• 240 g long-grain rice
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil (½ for the onion, 1 for the steaks, ½ for the beans)
• 4 tbsp ketchup + 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce + 1 tbsp soy sauce (for the sauce)
• 100 ml water (50 ml for cooking covered, 50 ml for the sauce)
• 500 g frozen green beans
• 1 garlic clove
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Saucepan with lid
• Large frying pan with lid
• Sauté pan with lid
• Mixing bowl
• Spatula

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water until the water runs almost clear. Put it in a saucepan with 450 ml water and a pinch of salt, bring to the boil, then cover and cook for 15 min over a low heat. Leave to stand for 5 min, covered, off the heat.
2. Peel the onion and chop it very finely. Fry it for 5 to 6 min over a medium heat in the large frying pan with ½ tbsp oil, until soft and golden. Tip it into a mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5 min: if hot, it would melt the fat in the meat.
3. In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and milk and leave to swell for 2 min. Add to the mixing bowl with the beef, pork, egg, ½ tsp salt and some pepper. Knead by hand for 1 to 2 min, until the mixture becomes sticky and even.
4. Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into oval steaks 2 cm thick, tossing each one 5 or 6 times from hand to hand to knock out the air: that way they won't crack during cooking. Make a slight dip in the centre with your thumb, as the middle puffs up during cooking.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the frying pan over a medium-high heat. Sear the steaks for 3 min without touching them, until well browned, then turn them carefully with the spatula and brown the other side for 2 min.
6. Pour 50 ml water into the pan, cover immediately and cook for 8 min over a low heat. The steaks are cooked when you pierce the centre with the tip of a knife and the juices run clear, not pink. Set them aside on a plate.
7. While they cook covered, heat ½ tbsp oil in the sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the still-frozen green beans and the peeled, crushed garlic, cover and cook for 8 min, stirring occasionally, then 2 min uncovered: they should be tender but still crunchy. Season with salt.
8. In the steak pan, without washing it, pour in the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and the remaining 50 ml water. Let it bubble for 1 to 2 min over a medium heat, scraping up the browned bits, until the sauce coats the spoon. Return the steaks to the pan and turn them to glaze well.
9. Serve each steak straight away, generously coated in sauce, with a portion of rice and green beans. The centre should stay tender and juicy: that's the hallmark of hambagu, much more tender than a classic burger.