Hanpen Burgers

Directions

1. 1
   Combine all the umeboshi sauce ingredients (pit the umeboshi plums and chop them up into paste first).
2. 2
   Put all the hanpen burger ingredients into a bowl.
3. 3
   Mix and knead well while mashing up the hanpen.
4. 4
   Heat sesame oil in a pan.
5. 5
   Form patties with the mixture from Step 2, and brown the patties on each side.
6. 6
   Serve the burgers on a plate with the sauce from Step 1.
7. 7
   Garnish with shredded shiso leaves.
8. 8
   For bentos: I made small burgers, brushed them with yakiniku sauce from a bottle, and skewered them.
9. 9
   Note: I used 60 g hanpen from a pack of 2.
10. 10
    Note 2: You could also double the amount and use a 120 g slab of hanpen.
11. 11
    Variation: Divide the burger mix into bite sized portions, and wrap around a square of processed cheese.
12. 12
    Variation, continued: Bake the cheese-wrapped balls in a toaster oven until golden brown.
13. 13
    If the cheese is too big it will melt out so be careful.
14. 14
    (See the bottom ball...) These are delicious even without sauce.