テリヤキバーガー - Teriyaki Burger

The typical "Teriyaki" sauce commonly known in European countries are actually very different sauce from the traditional Japanese Teriyaki taste. The European "Teriyaki" sauce is actually a sauce for sticky rice cake balls on stick, call Mitarashi taste in Japan.
But then about 20 years ago, MacDonald imported back the American "Teriyaki" taste for their local burger line, produced it as "Teriyaki burger" was a great success and became popular term.
Now a days, younger generation believe that's the original Teriyaki sauce in Japan too.
It's a quick and easy dinner for my home when I have very short time to fill my family's hungry stomach sounding loudly.

Ingredients (for 4 people - 2 burgers each):

8 pre-made beef burgers or 800g minced beef seasoned, mixed well and shaped 

(seasoning: salt, black pepper, nutmeg)

8 burger breads

1/2 onion sliced

3-4 leafs of  lettuce, rinsed and drained

for sauce:

1 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp sake

1 Tbsp mirin

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp potato starch (mixed with 2 Tbsp water)

Method:

1. In a large frying pan, fry the sliced onion until lightly brown, then pour all ingredients for sauce except the potato starch. Cook it on medium low heat until all sugar melt, then pour in the potato starch (mixed with water well just before use) slowly in to the pan while mixing by a wooden spoon.

2. Once the sauce is thicken (about 30 sec) then stop the heat and put that aside.

* a small tip: regardless you buy a pack of pre-made hamburger stakes or make home made, shape the burgers in about 1 cm thick and make center slightly thinner than out side. At the end, this will make the burgers flat evenly.

3. Using another frying pan, fry the burgers. High heat to start on one side, once the side is cooked (slightly burned) then turn over and turn down the heat to medium, wait until the side also cooked equally. Turn over again now continue cooking until inside is cooked. 

4. Place the cooked burgers into the first frying pan with sauce and continue cooking all burgers. 

5. Once all burgers are cooked, place the burger breads in oven (180 degree), sliced side up. Then turn on the first frying pan with sauce and burgers in. Cook for 2-3 minutes with turning around the burgers in sauce, until the sauce get slightly thicker and get around the burgers.

5. Serve the warmed burger bread, lettuce and burgers with some extra remaining sauce on top. I love to put a lot of mayonnaise on it too. Chips will never be too much to go together. Enjoy.