Bulgogi rice burger is a great way to enjoy Bulgogi in rice patty buns! Rice buns are unique, delicious and a healthier choice!
I’m so excited to share today’s recipe – Bulgogi rice burger (불고기 라이스 버거)! It is one of the signature fast food Korean dishes and some of you requested this recipe a while ago.
I can’t even remember when was the first time I had a Bulgogi rice burger. It feels like at least 10 years or so ago in a small corner of Lotteria (a Korean fast food chain equivalent to McDonalds in Korea). I ordered it because it was a new line of burger that just got introduced and I was naturally intrigued by the buns made with rice! Who wouldn’t be, right?!
In my faint memory, my experience was so so. Everything felt so artificial and frankly I couldn’t get used to the “rice bun thing”.
Fast forward to the present, look at me! I’m making Bulgogi rice burgers in my own home! And it feels real and tastes real! It was really good. I mean seriously good! I made this 8 times since last Monday! Well, it was partly because I was testing my recipe but nonetheless, it is an easy meal to prepare once you get the hang of making the rice bun without making it fall apart. 🙂
Bulgogi rice burgers are a great way to use up your leftover Bulgogi. This is definitely one of my favourite ways of enjoying it in a non-traditionally way, just like my Bulgogi spring rolls and Bulgogi taco bar recipe. Be sure to check these out if you love Bulgogi! Enjoy!
Watch How to Make Bulgogi Rice Burger (video tutorial)
Ingredients for Bulgogi Rice Burger (2 large servings)
- 200g (7 ounces) Bulgogi (Korean marinated BBQ beef) meat only
- 2 lettuce leaves – rinsed and cut to fit the rice bun
- 2 Korean perilla leaves – rinsed and stem removed
- Some pickled white radish slices and/or napa cabbage Kimchi – I recommend using reasonably “fresh” Kimchi
- Some Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie brand)
- 3 & 1/2 cup steamed short/medium grain white rice (e.g. Korean rice or sushi rice)
- Rice seasoning sauce I
- 1 tsp (black) roasted sesame seeds
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- Rice seasoning sauce II (mix these in a bowl)
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp soy sauce
- Bulgogi burger sauce (mix these in a bowl)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1/2 Tbsp rice wine
- 1/4 tsp (msg free) oyster sauce
- 1/8 tsp minced garlic
- 1/8 tsp sesame oil
- Bulgogi burger sauce thickening agent (mix these in a bowl)
- 1 tsp potato/corn starch
- 1 Tbsp water
- Handy tools to use
- 2 (or more) round cake pans – used as a rice bun mould (Diameter for the pan used in the recipe is 11.6cm/4.5 inch). Alternatively you could use 2 clean empty cans of tuna. If you use a smaller size mould, you could make 3 medium sized burgers instead.
- plastic food (cling) wrap
- non-stick baking paper
*1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml
** If you want to learn more about Korean cooking ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!
How to Make Bulgogi Rice Burger
1. Make the Bulgogi burger sauce in a pan. – Pour the Bulgogi burger sauce in a heated pan and boil it over low heat for about 10 to 20 seconds. Add the thickening agent and stir well until the sauce is thickened. (The sauce thickens faster at a higher temperature.) Scoop out the sauce onto a plate and set aside.
2. Put the steamed rice into a large mixing bowl and add the rice seasoning sauce I. Mix them well and set aside.
3. Cover the rice bun mould with some food wrap. Fill the mould with the seasoned rice (from step 2.) and gently shape the rice bun by pressing it down to flatten it. The thickness of my rice bun was about 2 cm/0.8 inch. Gather the food wrap to cover the rice. Rest the rice bun for about 5 mins in the mould. Repeat step 3 for the remaining rice (until you make 3 more rice buns).
4. Take the shaped rice buns out from the mould (just lift the food wrap) and uncover the rice. Brush the top of the rice buns with rice seasoning sauce II. Grill the seasoned side on low heat until it’s lightly crusted. While it’s grilling brush the rice seasoning sauce II on top of the bun. Turn it over and grill until it’s lightly crusted. Move the bun onto some non-stick baking paper so that the rice doesn’t stick to the plate. You can also use this paper as a wrapper. (Place two rice buns on each non stick baking paper sheet.) Repeat this for the rest of the rice buns.
5. Cook the Bulgogi in a pan until it’s fully cooked.
6. Assemble the burger as follows & enjoy!
- Squeeze out some mayonnaise on the rice buns and spread it well. – You can skip this if you don’t like mayonnaise.
- Spread the Bulgogi burger sauce on the rice buns. – You can brush this sauce onto the meat as well.
- Layer with lettuce leaves, perilla leaves and bulgogi. – You can replace perilla leaves with lettuce or other herbs you might like if you can’t find any.
- Add some pickled white radish slices and/or Kimchi.
- Cover with the rice bun.
- Wrap the burger with the non-stick baking paper so that you can catch it if anything drops.
Note
- In case you’re wondering, I bought my cake mould from a local Daiso store at AUD $2.80 each. The bottom is removable so it was very convenient to use.
- If you like pork, trying making this burger using my spicy pork bulgogi recipe!
Bulgogi Rice Burger
Ingredients
- 200 g Bulgogi (Korean marinated beef) (7 ounces)
- 2 lettuce leaves – rinsed and cut to fit the rice bun
- 2 perilla leaves – rinsed and stem removed
- Some pickled white radish or napa cabbage Kimchi
- Some Japanese mayonnaise , Kewpie brand
- 3 1/2 cup steamed short/medium grain white rice (Korean rice or sushi rice)
Rice seasoning sauce I
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (black)
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
Rice seasoning sauce II
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp soy sauce
Bulgogi burger sauce (mix these in a bowl)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1/2 Tbsp rice wine
- 1/4 tsp oyster sauce msg free
- 1/8 tsp minced garlic
- 1/8 tsp sesame oil
Bulgogi burger sauce thickening agent (mix these in a bowl)
- 1 tsp potato starch (or corn starch)
- 1 Tbsp water
Handy tools to use
- 2 round cake pans – used as a rice bun mould (Diameter for the pan used in the recipe is 11.6cm/4.5 inch). Alternatively you could use 2 clean empty cans of tuna. If you use a smaller size mould, you could make 3 medium sized
- plastic food wrap
- non-stick baking paper
Instructions
- Make the Bulgogi burger sauce in a pan. – Pour the Bulgogi burger sauce in a heated pan and boil it over low heat for about 10 to 20 seconds. Add the thickening agent and stir well until the sauce is thickened. (The sauce thickens faster at a higher temperature.) Scoop out the sauce onto a plate and set aside.
- Put the steamed rice into a large mixing bowl and add the rice seasoning sauce I. Mix them well and set aside.
- Cover the rice bun mould with some food wrap. Fill the mould with the seasoned rice (from step 2.) and gently shape the rice bun by pressing it down to flatten it. The thickness of my rice bun was about 2 cm/0.8 inch. Gather the food wrap to cover the rice. Rest the rice bun for about 5 mins in the mould. Repeat step 3 for the remaining rice (until you make 3 more rice buns).
- Take the shaped rice buns out from the mould (just lift the food wrap) and uncover the rice. Brush the top of the rice buns with rice seasoning sauce II. Grill the seasoned side on low heat until it’s lightly crusted. While it’s grilling brush the rice seasoning sauce II on top of the bun. Turn it over and grill until it’s lightly crusted. Move the bun onto some non-stick baking paper so that the rice doesn’t stick to a plate. You can also use this paper as a wrapper. (Place two rice buns on each non stick baking paper sheet.) Repeat this for the rest of the rice buns.
- Cook the Bulgogi in a pan until it’s fully cooked.
- Assemble the burger as follow & enjoy!
-Squeeze out some mayonnaise on the rice buns and spread it well. - You can skip this if you don't like mayonnaise.
-Spread the Bulgogi burger sauce on the rice buns. - You can brush this sauce onto the meat as well.
-Layer with lettuce leaves, perilla leaves and bulgogi. - You can replace perilla leaves with lettuce or other herbs you might like if you can't find any.
-Add some pickled white radish slices and/or Kimchi.
-Cover with the rice bun.
-Wrap the burger with the non-stick baking paper so that you can catch it if anything drops.
Notes
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
