This recipe has two sources of inspiration: the first was a recent article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine about Korean bulgogi sliders. The second is a fast-food restaurant I experienced when I was traveling in Japan: Mos Burger. Mos Burger has many interesting things on the menu, including burgers with fried rice patties instead of buns.

I tweaked the bulgogi marinade recipe from the Times article, including substituting seitan for beef. I also tweaked the garnishes a bit, and then created a recipe for the rice patty “bun.”

This recipe is a little spicy, a little salty and a little sweet with a crunchy rice base.

Open-Faced Seitan Bulgogi Burger wtih a Rice Patty Bun

Seitan Bulgogi

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1/8 cup mirin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1 asian pear, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup apple juice
• 8 ounces seitan
• 1/4 vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sake and mirin in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Mince garlic cloves. Add to bowl.
3. Slice onion. Add to bowl.
4. Julienne carrots. Add to bowl.
5. Add asian pear and apple juice to blender. Purée until smooth. Add to bowl.
6. Add seitan. Cover and refridgerate over night.
7. After the seitan has chilled overnight, strain seitan, onions and carrots. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the seitan mixture.
8. Heat vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high heat.
9. Add seitan mixture and stir-fry until onions have softened, carrots have browned and seitan has developed a brown crust.
10. Remove from heat.