Bulgogi Rice Burger (불고기 라이스 버거)

I swear this is the best dish I've ever come up with (erm, okay, strike that, just last week I made another finger-lickin' good dish, but hey that's another story). Yeah, so, I stand by my first statement.

불고기 라이스 버거 (Bulgogi Rice Burger)

I had a brilliant light bulb eureka moment when I decided to make these Korean inspired burgers. I mean, I am a huge Korean food fan. And I'm not sure if anyone has actually come up with this idea before (perhaps someone had, but from a quick Google check, it's not a very common idea), but it is absolutely da bomb.

In fact, can I just add that I recall vividly the phrase I used on Instagram to describe the dish when I had my first bite. I believe it ran along the lines of "I think I now know what people mean when they say their eyes roll back in orgasmic pleasure with a bite of -insert said food-". And I never say things like that. Yeps. It was really that good baby. Believe me.

Just imagine - well seasoned rice burgers with a nicely charred crust, fresh lettuce, piping hot sweet salty Korean bulgogi, and the ultimate Korean food representative - homemade kimchi, to round things off. The kimchi works as a sort of pickle in this sense, to provide some nice crunch and flavour.

Unfortunately, with all my bookmarks, I've forgotten which recipe I had used to make the bulgogi marinade. I'm sure Google or any other sources you might rely on will be a great help here. Just sub in your fave bulgogi recipe to make these. IMHO, most recipes use the same key ingredients anyway - thinly sliced beef, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

Making the rice burgers

Oh hey look, I found a use for the cake molds I normally use to stack my entremets. It proved handy to form uniformly shaped rice burgers. I didn't bother oiling the non-stick pan when I was cooking the rice burgers because I had seasoned the rice burgers with sesame oil and salt before shaping them. My favourite part about the rice burgers has gotta be those crisp charred brown bits. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Prepare loads of paper towels when you are at the dining table. You're gonna need it to mop up all the juices sloshing down your chins. It's gonna be a messy affair yes, but an extremely enjoyable one I promise.

I'd definitely recommend making this in your kitchen. Trust me.

Bulgogi Rice Burger (불고기 라이스 버거)

Bulgogi beef

Rice burgers
cooked sushi rice (I used a mix of barley and Japanese rice)
sesame oil, to taste
salt, to taste
soy sauce

Mix sushi rice with sesame oil and salt to taste. Set aside to cool.
Using a three inch ring mold, press rice into the mold tightly to about 1/2 inch thickness. The sesame oil should help to bind the rice together slightly. Repeat with three other ring molds.
Heat a non-stick pan on low heat, place rice patties onto the pan, with the mold still around the rice patties to help keep the rice patties in shape. Cook for few minutes till there is a thin layer of crust.
Using a glove to remove the mold as it will be hot, carefully flip the rice patty with a spatula. Replace mold around the patty to keep its shape. Repeat with other rice patties. Cook for another few minutes.
Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the crusty rice patties with soy sauce. Flip the rice patties and cook for another few minutes. Brush the other sides of the rice patties with soy sauce.

Burger toppings
homemade kimchi, cut into bite sized pieces
lettuce

Assemble
Place lettuce over rice burger patty. Add some bulgogi and kimchi. Finally, top it off with another rice burger patty. Serve immediately.