Bentoism

I made a rice burger today, because I craved one. MOS Burger was an Asian burger chain from Japan, and their yakiniku rice burger is about my all-time favorite burger. I believe the closest MOS burger chain might be across the Pacific, and so the only way to indulge my craving is to make my own. From the picture, you can see it turned out pretty good. I didn't prepare yakiniku beef (grilled beef) though. Instead, I prepared it like I would prepare a gyudon (sliced beef rice bowl). I still love my yakiniku burger. Next time perhaps.
As for how well the rice burger will withstand the refrigerator chill overnight and the microwave heat tomorrow, well, I'll have to get back to you on that, after tomorrow's lunch. But for those who are craving a good rice burger and are planning to consume it right away, here is the recipe.

Gyudon Rice Burger
For rice burger patties
1 cup uncooked sushi rice (or any short-grain white rice)
1/2 cup cooked sushi rice (I used leftovers from the night before)
Salt
Soy sauce
Sugar

For gyudon beef
1 lb thinly sliced beef (I used rib-eye but shabu shabu beef should be good.)
1/4 yellow onion sliced thin
Soy sauce
Mirin/Sugar

1. I used up the leftover rice so I don't waste it. If you don't have any leftover rice, just go ahead and prepare 1 1/2 cup of sushi rice. Add about 20% - 30% more water than what you would normally use because we are trying to make the rice sticky. Salt the rice lightly for flavor.
2. When the rice is cooked, stir the rice around to make it more starchy and divide into 4 potions. Using clingwrap plastic, form the rice into balls and let cool for 10 - 15 minutes.
   
3. At this point, knead the rice balls lightly like kneading bread, maybe 2-3 folds and that's enough. I use the clingwrap to knead the rice balls or the grains will stick to my fingers. This helps the rice grains stick together better and allows the patty to keep its shape. Shape the rice into a patty, wrap the clingwrap around it and let rest.
4. In the meantime, prepare a solution with 1/4 cup of water, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of sugar and get a brush ready.
   
5. Coat a cast iron pan on high heat with grilling spray (I used a non-stick hard-anodized pot this time), and carefully, place a rice patty onto pan surface without breaking it up. Leave untouched for 2-3 minutes and then flip over. Again, make sure to handle the patty carefully since it hadn't quite set. Brush the top surface of the rice patty with the sweet soy sauce solution. Flip over after 2-3 minutes and brush the other surface with the sweet soy sauce solution. Repeat twice before removing from pan and set it aside to cool.
6. To prepare gyudon, dilute 2 tbsp of soy sauce with 1 tsp of mirin (I used sugar) in 1/2 cup of water in a small sauce pan. Add sliced onions and when the mixture comes to a boil, add the thinly sliced beef. It is probably a good idea to cook the beef in batches if like me, you have a tiny sauce pan. When beef is no longer pink, remove from sauce pan and let cool.
7. Assemble the gyudon rice burger like how you would assemble any hamburger. Letting the beef slices cool also prevent the juices from soaking into the rice patty. I used some red leaf lettuce as an additional barrier between the beef and rice.

If you don't care for beef, the rice burger also works well with chicken. Teriyaki chicken goes well with the rice burger too. Add a dollop of mayonnaise & 2 slices of tomato with that and you'll be in another kind of heaven altogether.
Well, I hope this might inspire some of you out there to try making your hand at making rice burgers. It's really fun, and something unique to impress whoever you're cooking for. Let me know how it went if you do make some!