Nombelina

I’ve been thinking of making these karaage rice burgers for quite some time now. I’m glad I did finally make them, because they tasted amazing.

The recipe takes quite some time, but you can prepare a few things in advance. You can make the coleslaw a day or two in beforehand. The rice buns and fried chicken I would prepare on the day. You can fry the chicken for a second time, just before serving.

Ingredients for 7 ricebuns:

1½ cup sushi rice, uncooked

Optional: 5 Tbs rice vinegar

Optional: 1 ts sugar

Optional: 1 ts salt

Flavorless oil for frying

Ingredients for the karaage:

4-7 boneless chicken thighs

1 Tbs ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, grated

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs sake

2 ts sugar

½-1 cup corn starch or potato starch

Flavorless oil for shallow frying

Ingredients for sriracha mayonnaise:

2-4 Tbs mayonnaise

1-2 ts sriracha

Ingredients for the coleslaw:

150g white cabbage

50g carrots, julienne

2 Tbs mayonnaise

½ Tbs rice vinegar

Salt and pepper

Rice buns or Yaki Onigiri

You might know the Japanese rice balls called onigiri. These are either stuffed, coated or eaten plain. When you pan fry these onigiri, they are called yaki onigiri.

For this recipe I shaped the rice into patties to create the rice buns for the burger.

Prepare the rice according to the packaging.

Optional: mix the rice vinegar with the sugar and salt until it has dissolved. Season the rice to taste with the sushi seasoning and fan the rice until room temperature or gone cold.

Shape the burgers with the help of a ring and plastic wrap and press lightly. The buns should hold their shape.

I made these buns 1-1½cm thick and 9 cm across.

Heat a non stick skillet with a thin layer of oil and fry the rice buns on a medium heat for about 2 minutes each side.

Transfer to a bakingtray to cool and set aside. You can prepare the rice buns hours in advance.

Karaage – Japanese fried chicken

Mix the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar and sake. Marinade the chicken thighs for a minimum of 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Heat a high pan with about 1-1½ inches of oil.

Dredge the chicken thighs in the corn starch and fry until golden. Turn the thighs over halfway. Drain on kitchen paper.

Don’t fry to many at the same time.

To make the chicken extra crispy I fry them for a second time. You can do this just before serving.

Fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through. Turn over while frying and drain on kitchen paper.

Coleslaw

For these rice burgers I made a simplified version. Mix the mayo with the rice vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Mix the dressing with the cabbage and carrots and keep in fridge.

Sriracha mayonnaise

Mix the mayo with the sriracha, add more if you like it spicier.

Karaage rice burgers

Time to build the burgers!

Take a rice bun and place the karaage on top. Dollop with sriracha mayo and finish with the coleslaw. You could top it of with one more rice bun, but 1 rice bun was enough for us. Because the rice buns aren’t as firm as a normal bun, you won’t be able to eat these as a regular hamburger.

A delicious fried chicken rice burger! If you don’t feel like making karaage, you could make tori katsu or chicken teriyaki burgers instead.

Adapt the amount of rice to the amount of chicken thighs you make. My recipe makes for 7 buns. If you have some left overs you can make regular onigiri or the little snacks in the photo below.

Little yaki onigiri topped with seaweed salad and homemade tuna salad. The little onigiri are shaped by hand with the help of a little plastic wrap.

Tags: Chicken, Japanese, Rice