I love hamburgers. At my home in Tsukaguchi, Amagasaki City, it has been decided that we eat hamburgers on Saturdays for dinner. Saturday night is Hamburger Night. My Japanese wife’s homemade hamburgers are absolutely delicious and the best-tasting hamburgers I know.
Western-style hamburgers and Japanese-style hamburgers
A Western-style hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty (usually beef) placed in a sliced bun, or “hamburger bun” . Condiments such as ketchup, mustard, relish, etc. can be added as well as onion, pickles, cheese, tomato and lettuce.
Japanese-style hamburgers are patties containing ground beef mixed with other ingredients such as onion, egg, milk and breadcrumbs. They are not placed in a sliced bun but instead can be served with sauce on top.
My wife’s hamburgers
My wife’s hamburgers are special as they are a combination of both the Western-style hamburger and the Japanese-style hamburger. My wife’s patty contains ground beef, onion, carrot, milk, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg. She adds grated cheddar cheese on top of the cooked patty in the pan, letting the cheese melt before placing it in a hamburger bun. Condiments such as mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard or relish are added as well as sliced onion, sliced pickle, perilla or lettuce. The taste of the carrot and onion in the patty, being naturally sweet, give the patty an especially great taste. Combined with the cheese, the bun and everything else, the taste is amazingly good and better than any Western-style burger I know.
My wife’s cousin and younger brother, both Japanese and who also live in Tsukaguchi, sometimes have hamburgers with us on Saturday nights and have come to love my wife’s hamburgers too. I always enjoy Saturday nights eating hamburgers with my family.
Smith’s barbecue events
Last year, my school, Smith’s School of English Tsukaguchi, held a joint barbecue event with other Smith’s schools at a park in Osaka. I cooked some hamburgers for my students there on an electric barbecue grill, which they enjoyed. You can read about it by clicking here. You can read more and see lots of photos and student comments of the event by clicking here. Enjoy!
Hamburgers at my home
One day, when I live in a larger place, I want to invite students to my home for hamburgers so that they can experience them cooked the same way that I eat them with my family. I think they would really enjoy that.
Derek
Hey Derek the home made hamburgers sound great.
In the April 3rd 2009 edition of “Metropolis” there was a special pull-out guide “Tokyo’s Best Burgers” there was no mention of any of the major burger chains in it or even one of my favourite buger places – Kua ‘Aina. They were not cheap either in fact the most expensive one was one at Trader Vic’s (Hotel New Otani – Akasaka) Y3,150 for a 225g 100% Japanese beef burger.
I guess your wife’s burger would rate in a similar price range – the photographs certainly support your comments that they are delicious. Are you putting on some extra weight?