Rice burger (ライスバーガー) is a common fast food found throughout Japan.
It is simply a burger, where the bun is made of rice pressed together into disc shapes.
Rice burger was first created by fast food chain “Mos Burger” in the 1980s, and has since been replicated by various shops across Japan.
Read on for more interesting info about Rice burger:
Ingredients
The main ingredients of rice burgers are:
- Rice
- Various fillings
The “bun” is made with short grained rice that is pressed/shaped into flat discs. The discs are slightly grilled to help them stick together better.
Burger fillings can be anything you want. The most popular filling from Mos Burger is yakiniku style sliced beef. Another standard filling from Mos Burger is seafood kakiage (i.e. deep fried seafood/vegetable tempura).
Location
Rice burgers can be found all across Japan. Mos Burger has over 1200 locations around the country, so you can find one basically anywhere you go.
Convenience stores and supermarkets also sell rice burgers which you can simply heat up in the microwave.
History / Origin
The original rice burger was created by Mos Burger in 1987.
Rice is the main staple food in Japan, so the company simply wanted to use rice to create a new product for Japanese people.
There were many issues at first, mainly of how to keep the rice bun from falling apart. Eventually, they discovered by brushing the rice bun with soy sauce and grilling it, the bun was able to stick together.
Rice burgers became a mainstay in Japanese food culture, and are now sold in many other restaurants as well as convenience stores and supermarkets throughout the country.
Japanese Rice Burger Recipe
The most important part of a rice burger is the bun made of rice! Below is a recipe to make a rice bun that won’t fall apart. Original recipe via Cotta.jp (in Japanese).
The filling is up to you. You can use meat, eggs, vegetables, or whatever your heart desires!
Rice Burger Bun Recipe (ライスバーガー):
Course: BurgerCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes1
hour10
minutesHere’s how to make a burger rice bun, so you can make your own Mos Burger style rice burgers! Original recipe and photos from cotta.jp
Ingredients
- Equipment
Plastic wrap
Frying pan
Brush
- Ingredients (1 serving; i.e. 2 rice buns)
Cooked rice … approx. 150g
Potato starch … 1 teaspoon
Soy sauce … 1 teaspoon
Oil … appropriate amount
Directions
- Cook some rice if you don’t have any, and let it cool down a bit (but still warm).
- Mix the potato starch with about 150g of warm rice
- Divide the rice in two, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Use your hands to form it into a flat circle about 8cm in diameter. Take off the plastic when done.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat and place two rice buns
- Brush the surface of each rice bun with soy sauce and fry until both sides are golden brown.
- Add your choice of filling, and your rice burger is complete!
Summary
Have you ever tried rice burger before? What did you think of it?
Do you prefer the rice bun, or a regular burger bun?
Leave your thoughts and comments below!
