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Japanese Hamburger Steak

Updated: 02.02.25 | Marc Matsumoto | 19 Comments

4.89 from 9 votes
Japanese Hamburger Steak or Hamburg Steak (ハンバーグステーキ) is a popular Western-style dish in Japan. I've glazed the moist, tender beef patties in a glistening coat of sweet and savory teriyaki sauce for this version.
Recipe Video
This mouthwatering Japanese Hamburg Steak recipe is glazed with an easy 3-ingredient teriyaki sauce.

Japanese Hamburger Steak with Teriyaki Sauce

Hamburg Steak, also known as Hambāgu, is the Japanese version of Hamburger Steak. Although it's named after the German port city of Hamburg, the dish originated in New York as a Hamburg-style steak. It's based on German Frikadelle, and although it's unclear how it ended in Japan, the first written references of a similar dish appeared in the 1870s. 

Hamburg Steak is considered yōshoku, or Western food in Japan, but it's become one of the most popular home-cooked meals over the past 70 years. It's typically served with a sweet and sour sauce made from ketchup, wine, and chunou sauce, but Teriyaki Sauce is another popular condiment. 

Jump to:
  • Japanese Hamburger Steak with Teriyaki Sauce
  • Why This Recipe Works?
  • Ingredients for Hamburger Steak with Teriyaki
  • How to Make Hamburger Steak with Teriyaki
  • Other Hamburger Recipes
  • FAQ
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Comments

Why This Recipe Works?

  • Microwaving the onions not only softens them up, but it also makes them sweeter without having to saute them. 
  • Adding a bit of cream cheese to the patty adds richness and umami.
  • By dusting the surface of the hamburger steaks with a light coat of potato starch, it helps the sauce form a thick, even glaze around each patty.
Tender, juicy Japanese style Hamburg Steak glazed with teriyaki sauce.

Ingredients for Hamburger Steak with Teriyaki

  • Ground beef - It's pretty common in Japan to use a mixture of beef and pork for Hamburg Steak. The main reason is that ground beef is very expensive here. Pork also has a more umami-rich taste that many Japanese people enjoy. That being said, I generally prefer an all-beef patty because the added pork tends to dilute the flavor of the beef, and for me, a hamburger is first and foremost about the beef. 
  • Onion - Onions are the second most important ingredient for Hamburger Steak after beef. They add loads of flavor and give the patties a mild sweetness that helps balance out the savory beef. 
  • Cream cheese - Many Hamburg Steak recipes call for adding milk or cream, but I prefer using cream cheese. This gives you a ton of umami from the milk solids while providing a little extra fat, which helps keep the patties moist. 
  • Panko - Adding panko, or Japanese breadcrumbs does a couple of things. First, breadcrumbs are much less dense than meat, so the hamburger steaks become more light and fluffy. The second benefit is that the panko won't harden like ground beef when cooked, giving the patties a more tender texture. Finally, the dried breadcrumbs absorb liquid, so as the meat cooks, the juices get soaked up by the panko instead of leaking out into the pan. 
  • Egg - Adding an egg helps bind the mixture together. 
  • Seasonings - Although the teriyaki sauce is very flavorful, it's still a good idea to season the meat itself as the sauce won't penetrate into the patties. I've kept the seasonings pretty simple with just soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. The soy sauce brings the salt and umami. The Worcestershire sauce adds a mix of spices while providing just a hint of acidity. I held back in the recipe to keep this kid-friendly, but black pepper is such a great complement to beef, I like to add a lot more. 
  • Potato starch - I like to coat the patties with a thin dusting of potato starch, which helps create a thick glaze around the patties. Potato starch won't cloud the sauce, which is why it's my preferred choice, but other starches or even flour will serve the same purpose. 
  • Teriyaki sauce - Japanese teriyaki sauce is straightforward and includes just sake, soy sauce, and sugar (and sometimes mirin). The name literally means "shiny grilled," so the sauce should end up clear and glossy, achieving its thickness through the sugar's caramelization rather than by adding thickeners. Sake is added to impart flavor as well as umami. The alcohol is burned off as the sauce boils, so the finished sauce should not contain any alcohol. Unfortunately, there are no good substitutes for sake (rice vinegar and fruit juice are NOT good substitutes), so if you can't find it, you'll just have to omit it.
Japanese Hamburger Steak and teriyaki sauce over rice with steamed broccoli and carrots.

How to Make Hamburger Steak with Teriyaki

The first thing you want to do is cook the minced onions. You can saute them in a pan, but to save time, I like to add them to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with a lid, and microwave them for four minutes twenty seconds at 600 watts. This should get them translucent and tender, and some of them will just be starting to brown. Let these cool off enough so you can handle them without burning yourself. 

In a separate bowl, add the ground beef, cream cheese, panko, egg, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and then add in the cooled onions. Put some gloves on and use your hand to knead the mixture until the ingredients are evenly distributed, and the mixture is uniform in color. 

Prepare a parchment paper-lined tray, and shape the hamburger mixture into patties. If you plan to pack these into a bento box, you might want to make 8-10 smaller patties, or you can go with 4-6 larger patties if you plan to serve these on a plate. The key here is to make them all roughly the same size and thickness to cook through in a similar amount of time. 

You also want to force out any air and seal up any cracks, or your patties will split open when you cook them. You can do this by throwing the patty from one hand and smacking it against the other. 

Next, you want to dust the patties with a thin, even coating of potato starch. Put some starch into a tea strainer and tap the side of it to give each patty a light dusting. You can toss the patties between your hands again to remove any excess starch and fix any indentations.

To fry up the Hamburg Steak, heat a frying pan over medium heat and add two teaspoons of oil. Unless you have a large pan, you will probably need to fry the patties in two batches, so make the first batch without overcrowding the pan. 

When the patties are cooked about a quarter of the way through, flip them over. You should only have a little browning at this point, but if they're already looking golden brown, turn down the heat a bit. 

Fry the second side until it's golden brown, and flip them back over to continue browning the first side. Since they will cook some more in the teriyaki sauce, transfer the patties to a plate when they reach an internal temperature of 140F (60C). Repeat with any remaining patties.

Once all of the hamburger steaks are cooked, turn off the heat and wipe out all of the oil and particulate matter from the pan. I know some of you are wondering why we'd want to get rid of the fond on the pan, but teriyaki sauce needs to be clear and glossy as "teri" literally means shiny. 

When the pan is clean, add the soy sauce, sugar, and sake and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once the teriyaki sauce starts to thicken, return the patties back into the pan. 

Roll the Hamburg Steaks around the pan until the teriyaki sauce has started to caramelize, and the patties are coated with a thick, shiny glaze. 

Other Hamburger Recipes

  • Hambāgu Steak (with tomato and fruit sauce)
  • Loco Moco
  • Best American Hamburger
  • Island Burger

FAQ

What is Hambāgu?

Hambāgu (ハンバーグ) is the Japanese version of Hamburger Steak. It's a meat patty generally made of beef, onions, breadcrumbs, and seasonings that's pan-fried and served with a sweet and savory sauce.

What's the difference between a Hamburger and Hamburg Steak?

Hamburger without "steak" at the end of the name refers to both ground beef and a meat patty made with it. It's most commonly associated with American-style hamburgers, which are a sandwich with a pure beef patty. Hambāgu, Hamburg Steak, and Hamburger Steak can be used interchangeably and refers to a category of dishes made by mixing ground beef with other ingredients and serving it with a sauce, instead of a bun.

How do you say Hamburger Steak in Japanese?

In Japan, Hamburger Steak is typically called Hamburg Steak, which transliterates to Hambāgu Sutéki (ハンバーグステーキ). It is pronounced as follows:

han like honk
ba like barb
gu like good

su like soup
te like take
ki like key

What can I serve Hamburg Steak with?

Japanese Hamburger Steak is considered a Western-style dish in Japan, so it's most commonly served with potatoes or pasta. This holds true when paired with a tomato or demi-glace sauce, but I tend to prefer it with rice when it's glazed with teriyaki sauce. As for vegetables, I recommend something simple and colorful, like broccoli and carrots that have been boiled in well-salted water.

📖 Recipe

Tender, juicy Japanese style Hamburg Steak glazed with teriyaki sauce.

Hamburger Steak with Teriyaki Sauce

By: Marc Matsumoto
4.89 from 9 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Yield 3 servings
YouTube video

Units

Ingredients 

For patty

  • 100 grams onion (minced)
  • 600 grams ground beef
  • 75 grams cream cheese
  • 30 grams panko
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • Potato starch (for dusting)
  • Vegetable oil (for pan)

For teriyaki sauce

  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup evaporated cane sugar
  • ¼ cup sake

Instructions

  • Add the onions to a microwave-safe bowl, cover it with lid or plastic wrap, and microwave at 600 watts for about four minutes twenty seconds. The goal is to get them soft and just starting to brown. Let these cool off a bit.
    Opening lid of bowl with cooked minced onions.
  • Add the ground beef, cream cheese, panko, egg, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and cooled onions to a bowl and use your hands to knead the mixture together until it's uniform in color.
    Mixing meat mixture for making Japanese Hamburger Steak.
  • Shape the mixture into 6-8 patties. Smack the patties between your hands to force out any air and seal up any cracks.
    Shaping Japanese Hamburger Steaks between two hands.
  • Put a spoonful of potato starch into a fine-mesh sieve and dust both sides of the patties with a thin, even coating. You can pat them between your hands again to remove any excess starch.
    Dusting Hamburg Steak patties with potato starch.
  • Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add a splash of oil. Add as many patties as you can get into the pan without overcrowding it.
    Raw hamburg steaks in a frying pan.
  • Fry the Hamburg Steaks until they're cooked about ¼ of the way through and flip them over. Turn down the heat to medium-low and brown the second side.
    Pan-frying Hamburg Steaks.
  • Flip the patties periodically to evenly brown both sides, and the internal temperature reads 140F (60C) on an instant-read thermometer.
    Browned Japanese hamburger steaks in a frying pan.
  • Transfer the Hamburger Steaks onto a plate. If your pan didn't fit all the patties, fry the remaining patties now.
  • Once all of the patties have been cooked, turn off the heat and use paper towels to wipe out all of the pan's grease and particulate matter.
    Wiping out oil and debris from frying pan with paper towels.
  • Add the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce to the clean pan and turn the stove on to high heat. Boil the sauce until it starts to thicken.
    Caramelizing Teriyaki Sauce in a frying pan.
  • Return the Hamburg patties to the pan and roll them around in the sauce until they are coated in a thick, shiny layer of sauce, and the glaze has started to caramelize.
    Glazing Hamburg Steak with Teriyaki sauce.
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Nutrition Facts

Calories • 779kcalCarbohydrates • 32gProtein • 42gFat • 51gSaturated Fat • 21gCholesterol • 224mgSodium • 1781mgPotassium • 762mgFiber • 1gSugar • 21gVitamin A • 415IUVitamin C • 3mgCalcium • 105mgIron • 6mg

Comments

    4.89 from 9 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Felix says

    January 24, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    If I only have 500g minced beef instead of 600g, should I add more cream cheese to substitute? Thanks

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      January 24, 2023 at 9:25 pm

      Hi Felix, cooking is about the ratio of ingredients. If you reduce the main ingredient and increase an ingredient intended to add fat, you're going to end up with a mixture thats greasy and it may not even hold together. Since you're reducing the amount of beef by about 20% I'd recommend reducing the quantity of all the other ingredients by about 20%.

      Reply
      • Felix Que says

        January 27, 2023 at 9:43 pm

        5 stars
        Thanks so much Marc. I just tried. It's too delicious. I was going to meal prep 8 patties but ended up with 5 only.
        How does the temperature matter if I did not wait for the onion to cool off? If it is important, should I put the mixture back to fridge if it gets too warm? Coz I live in Cairns and the onion can stay hot for a long time.

        Reply
        • Marc Matsumoto says

          January 28, 2023 at 12:23 am

          Happy to hear you enjoyed it Felix! It's best to let the onions cool first because 1) it will melt the fat in the ground meat making it harder to shape 2) if you plan to make the patties and store them in the fridge it's not ideal to heat the meat up once without fully cooking it. That being said it sounds like you managed to shape the patties so it's not the end of the world.

          Reply
          • Felix says

            January 29, 2023 at 3:04 pm

            Thanks Marc! There is so much to learn. Maybe I will put the hot onion in the fridge before adding other ingredients.

          • Marc Matsumoto says

            January 30, 2023 at 12:07 pm

            You're welcome Felix! the fastest way to speed up cooling it down is to spread the onions around a metal bowl and then submerge the bottom of the bowl in a large bowl of cold water.

  2. William Bishop says

    January 27, 2021 at 2:06 pm

    Can you do this without the cream cheese? Got 2 negatives on that haha, am lactose intolerant and just generally don't like cream cheese.

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      January 28, 2021 at 11:58 pm

      Hi William, yes make this recipe instead: https://norecipes.com/hamburg-steak-hambagu/ If you want to do teriyaki sauce, you can make the patty from the other recipe and use the sauce from this one.

      Reply
    • Marii Samaco says

      April 13, 2022 at 10:20 pm

      5 stars
      Hi, can I use cooking sake??

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        April 14, 2022 at 5:42 pm

        Hi Marii, I don't recommend it. Cooking sake often contains salt, MSG and preservatives. The salt is added to make it undrinkable so they can avoid alcohol taxes, but it throws the salt content of recipes off. Unless the recipe specifically calls for "cooking sake" it should not be used.

        Reply
  3. Melissa Schloss says

    November 23, 2020 at 9:40 pm

    5 stars
    I tried this recipe and my boyfriend and I loved it. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      November 23, 2020 at 9:45 pm

      Hi Melissa, glad to you and your boyfriend enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!

      Reply
  4. Oksana says

    November 13, 2020 at 4:03 am

    5 stars
    Hi Marc
    Just made is exactly like you said. This is something exceptional!
    I serve them with rice mixed with fried cabbage.
    Thank you very much! Have a nice day or evening:)
    Kind regards
    Oksana

    Reply
  5. Oksana says

    November 10, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    5 stars
    Sooo good!!!!

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      November 11, 2020 at 10:03 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  6. Montreal Rob says

    November 10, 2020 at 12:48 am

    Unless you are grinding your own beef, ground beef should be cooked to 165 °F for safety, no less.
    Also, may I suggest using tapioca starch instead of potato starch or flour? I am surprised how little this starch shows up on food websites. I prefer it to most other starches in stir fries or stews.

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      November 10, 2020 at 9:42 am

      Hi Montreal Rob. The patties continue to cook in the sauce and will reach a much higher internal temperature than 140 by the time the sauce is thickened and the patties are glazed. As for the starch I like tapioca starch as well as it gels at a lower temp and sets clear, however it's much harder to find than potato starch.

      Reply
    • Amannda says

      November 13, 2020 at 5:20 pm

      USDA standards set ground beef at 160°. The only thing that needs to reach 165° is bird. If you were including ground turkey or chicken in your recipe you would definitely want to hit 165. (From someone who is currently licensed to handle food in the US that will be served to others)

      Reply
  7. Bkhuna says

    November 09, 2020 at 2:35 am

    So much better with demi-glace buts next to impossible to find in the US. I saw the insides of quit a few western style restaurants in Japan and a large can of Heinz gemi-glace was always present for hambagu.

    Reply
Marc Matsumoto

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