Guest Post

Surprise!  Sorry to those who were expecting a celebrity or famous blogger, it’s just me, Francis.  It’s so fun to be able to contribute to this blog.  Of course I’ve been following it since the beginning and it has been a blast to see the variety of posts that Hilary has.  Since she has been on a recipe kick lately, I thought I could give Hilary a break and cook for her on Saturday and also post on her blog. 

For those who may not know, my parents are both Korean and as a result I grew up eating mainly Korean food.  One of my favorite quick meals was ramen.  But this wasn’t the same 33¢ run-of-the-mill stuff you are used to seeing college kids eat, this was spicy, hearty, and delicious.  So you could imagine my curiosity when I saw articles about people making ramen burgers and decided that we should give it a try ourselves.  But instead of westernizing the burger like some of the recipes out there, I wanted to throw a more Asian/Korean spin on the idea.

Here are all the ingredients I used (minus the sesame oil).  Since the ramen is only used for the buns you can use any brand you want, but the flavor should be chicken.

And that red stuff?  No, not the ketchup.  The red paste in the little brown bowl.  That is 고추장, or gochujang.  Say it with me, go-chew-jang (“jang” rhymes with “long”).  What is it? It’s red pepper paste with some soybeans and salt.  Oh, and it’s fermented…I know, that may sound gross but it’s really delicious (and spicy).

We’ve all made ramen before… but if you haven’t all you need to do is boil some water and throw the noodles in there.  Don’t cook them all the way, though.  Pull them out a couple minutes before the instructions tell you to.

While the noodles are boiling, finely chop up a half of a small onion.

Drain the noodles and let them cool down for 10 minutes, then stir in an egg.  The egg helps bind the noodles when you cook them into “buns.”

To make the "buns", I used a 28 oz. can that held tomatoes in a past life, as a mold.  Make sure you use oil or cooking spray on the inside of the mold as well as the pan to avoid sticking.  Cook on each side for 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the “buns” are cooking, slice up two potatoes into fries.

For the burgers, mix a pound of ground beef with the onions and the seasoning packet for the ramen noodles.  Also, add a tablespoon of sesame oil.  This is probably one of my favorite ingredients in Korean cooking as it has a nutty aroma that brings me back to Mom’s cooking.

Remember that the hamburgers will reduce in size after cooking so make them bigger than what you want their final size to be.

Mix a tablespoon of the gochujang to 3 tablespoons of ketchup.  By mixing, the stronger flavor of the gochujang will be mellowed out by the more familiar condiment staple. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Coat the potatoes in a tablespoon of sesame oil and a tablespoon of vegetable oil.  The sesame oil will again add a nice Asian flavor to the fries, but because their smoke point is pretty low, I mix it with vegetable oil.  Cook until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. 

Optional: Toast a tablespoon of sesame seeds over medium heat.  Careful, they go from toasted to burned very quickly.

Top the “buns” with lettuce and spread some of the gochujang/ketchup mixture on top of the lettuce.  Spread it on the lettuce to keep the “buns” from getting soggy.  Top with some onions and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Overall, we really liked the burgers, especially the flavor of the meat.  The “buns” were definitely different but probably could have used a little more infusion of flavor.  In the end, we are both happy we tried the latest food fad and enjoyed it enough to make it again in the future.  Thank you so much for reading and thank you, Hilary, for letting me be a part of your blog!

Editor's note: 
F, you rock my socks. You did a wonderful job! Step-by-step photos, humor, details - you are a natural. It doesn't hurt anything that I'm your testing subject for recipes. ;) I love you!

images: Francis