Mia Cooks: Chicken Breast Tofu Hambagu (Japanese Hamburger Steak)

Well, it's been months of working from home and likewise, months of eating either chicken breast or white fish for lunch (I've slowly added in chickpeas and tofu along the way). Nope, I'm not giving them up. Just thought of making something more... special? Something that doesn't screams CHICKEN BREAST at me straight from the serving plate.

And then I found the video for Tofu Burger Steak on MASA's Cooking ABC and I thought, this is it! I shall try to make my own version of chicken breast tofu hambagu!


So to get 4 small pieces of the hamburger steak (2 servings), you'll need:

150g silken tofu (drained, see below for procedure)

160 - 180g chicken breast

50g white onion, finely chopped

1 green chili, chopped 

(I used India Chili -Banji)

your choice of seasoning

(I used garlic salt, black pepper, ground ginger, light soy sauce and some rice wine vinegar)

Things will get a lot simpler if you have a mini food processor, but if you don't, a sharp chopping knife will do just fine. But first, we have to strain off the excess liquid in the silken tofu. Wrap your piece of tofu in some sturdy kitchen towel paper and place it over a sieve that is set of a bowl. Then, place some form of weight ( I put a bowl of water) over the kitchen towel wrapped tofu and leave it standing for 30 minutes to an hour. You can also use pressed tofu instead of silken tofu (and drain it the same way), but due to the difference in water content and texture, you might need to add an egg as a binder for the final mixture to shape well.

For chicken breast, if you're using frozen ones like me, I'll suggest that you defrost them in a bowl of salt water (as already mentioned in my previous recipe posts using chicken breast). I find that brining the chicken breast (especially frozen ones) not only make the meat less tough, but also helps eliminate the "frozen" taste that tends to linger in the chicken despite being fully cooked. If you've ever eaten a piece of "bad" (frozen) chicken, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Rinse your brined chicken breast clean under tap water and either cut them into chunks (if you're using a food processor) or simply chop them up into minced meat using a chopper, and set them aside. Next, the onion. If you're a fan of caramelised onions, I'll suggest that you fully cook the onions by stir frying them with a little bit of oil until they've caramelised before adding them into the other raw ingredients. Otherwise, just skip the pre-cooking part, it's fine. If you personally love the sweetness of cooked onions, feel free to add more into the mix.


In a large bowl, add in your minced chicken, chopped onions and chili, and mash up the tofu with your hands before adding them into the bowl. Add in seasonings of your choice and mix with a pair of chopsticks (or fork) by stirring in one direction vigorously until everything is well combined and starts to feel pastey and sticky. If you're using a food processor, simply dump everything into the food processor and process until you're left with a homogeneous meat paste.

Then, using clean hands, divide the mixture into 4 portions and shape each portion into palm size meat patty. Do try to throw (or drop) them from one hand to the other so as to remove any pockets of air trapped in between. Then, place the patties onto a lightly greased non stick pan and cook on low to medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, until browned. 

Even though I've used chicken breast, the addition of silken tofu not only reduce the overall calories but also makes the patty super soft and tender. And the bits of onions added a nice sweetness while the chili added a nice heat. 

Till then,

Mia Foo