[Anime Culture Monday] Anime Recipes: Egg Hamburg Steak (Amaama to Inazuma)

Welcome one and all to yet, a new installment of eat like your anime faves! We are sorry to keep you waiting. We know that you cannot wait to sink your teeth into yet another amazing dish that our anime cooking series brings you. Each week is another tantalizing dish that appears in anime and is based off of real life food!

This week we have another visitation of the adorable anime Amaama to Inazuma (Sweetness and Lightning). Between this and Shokugeki no Souma, we could never get tired! Great stories and great food are the backbones of these two and they look amazing while doing it. As if it could not get better we are bringing you a delicious meal yet again this week! This week on the chopping block is a great staple of Japanese “foreign” cuisine. Often in Japan and Japanese culture, many things that we experience in the west are also consumed in Japan but maybe not in the form or capacity that we are accustomed to.

Japanese people are notorious for taking food that is based in the west, and then “modifying” it. Sometimes it is to satisfy a Japanese palate, while other times, the modifications will leave you scratching your head. A good example that comes to mind is nachos made without corn chips, but rather sweetly seasoned doritos? Thankfully, this week is not that, so let’s get cracking and bring you this mouthwatering dish!


Egg Hamburg Steak from Amaama to Inazuma

The Hamburg steak is not technically a Japanese dish. Since this series focuses on food that you see in anime, you will often get dishes that are non-native to Japan. This is one of them. The Hamburg hails from Germany where it became popular in the 19th century and spread around the world. The closest thing to this would be a Salisbury steak. Hamburg is similar to a hamburger that we think of in the West, it is actually much more simple. Hamburg steak originally came about in Germany, and was brought to America. It was there that the steak, normally served with just sauce on it, was placed between bread and the hamburger was born. Now over time it has evolved to be something else, but the hamburg steak is not something too far from what our minds perceive it to be.

The sauce too is key here as the sauce is what separates this from a regular burger. Note, you may just use Worcestershire sauce in lieu of making the sauce but you will just have a western burger at that point, so give the new method a try! Thankfully what is really good is that this dish as well is another vegetarian friendly option. If you simply omit the meat and use a substitute like tofu, you will have something very close to the hamburg steak! Also there is the fact that hamburgs are usually very light and fluffy compared to their western counterparts. The dish that makes its debut in Amaama is coupled with tomato sauce and an egg, but those are easy to make! Look at the optional notes for guidance. Let’s get down to it.

It should be a crime to look this delicious!

What you will need: (Note: Serves 2-4 people.)

Burgers

ground beef
500g (2.5lbs)

a sweet white onion. Vidalia are acceptable too!
½

panko bread crumbs
1 cup

1 egg + 1 egg per hamburg steak that you make. (4-5)

Salt and Pepper to season.

Sauce

Worcestershire Sauce
3 tbsp

teriyaki sauce
3 tbsp

ketchup
3 tbsp

tonkatsu sauce
3 tbsp

sugar
3 tbsp

Optional Notes:

For the tomato sauce, either canned will work for those who cannot be bothered to make their own tomato sauce, and for those who are curious, you can google a simple recipe. Tomatoes, garlic, if you like some flavor, salt, pepper, olive oil, and some water will be all you really need. Cook the tomatoes down to simply make your sauce. When done, pour the sauce on top of the hamburg steak before you place the egg on top. It’s rather simple!



How to Cook It:

  1. 1

    In a bowl, combine the ground meat and the egg.
  2. 2

    Next, add in the salt and pepper and mix well.
  3. 3

    Begin to heat up a frying pan with some oil in it.
  4. 4

    Mince the onion and proceed to stir fry it in the frying pan.
  5. 5

    Add in the panko bread crumbs and mix it all together. Once you have added it all in kill the heat.
  6. 6

    Once cooked, add in the onions and panko into the meat and egg mixture.
  7. 7

    With clean hands, knead the onions into the meat. Mix very well and be sure it is all blended together.
  8. 8

    Form your hamburg steaks and then cook them, either in an oven, a toaster oven, or a frying pan at 200 C (425F) for 20 minutes. If you are cooking them in a frying pan, be sure to flip them over routinely to ensure that they are cooked all the way through.
  9. 9

    While waiting for them to finish cooking, mix together the Worcestershire sauce, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, tonkatsu sauce, and sugar in a bowl.
  10. 10

    Cook the sauce on low to medium heat in a frying pan. Once done, set aside.
  11. 11

    Right before the hamburg steaks are done, cook your eggs sunny side up to place on top of the burgers. Be careful not to break the yolks nor overcook them!
  12. 12

    Once they are done, place one hamburg steak on a plate, coat with a generous amount of tomato sauce, and then finish with the egg.
  13. 13

    Dig in!

(Note: You are handing raw meat and you need to be very careful. Wash your hands and clean up carefully after yourself. )

Yum!

Final Thoughts

While it may not seem ~super Japanese~ this week, oddly enough, Japanese people sure do love to adapt western food to suit their tastes. We in the west often like slices of tomatoes or ketchup on our burgers, so it is not a far stretch to put tomato sauce on it. The egg may be a leap of faith for some, but oddly it does suit the dish well. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know in the comments section below! We look forward to them greatly. Well until next time!
005 [Anime Culture Monday] Anime Recipes: Egg Hamburg Steak (Amaama to Inazuma)

Editor/Translator

Author: Nagareboshi

American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.

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