I am obsessed with these vegan burgers! We’ve got a toothsome, flavorful tempeh patty glazed with an umami rich Korean barbecue sauce. And loaded up with a juicy kimchi and cabbage slaw. Pile it all in between a soft and squishy bun. Oh, yes! It might just be the perfect, dreamy burger! These burgers are made of tempeh, which gives them a beautiful texture. It also means they are really easy to make. They cook up nice and firm, have structural integrity (any vegan burger aficionado knows how elusive that can be). This means they don’t fall into a million pieces in your hands. Woo hoo!
So what makes them Korean?
Well, I’m not going to pretend these are an authentic Korean anything. But they do use a lot of amazing Korean flavors and ingredients. I am all about that Korean BBQ sauce! In the burgers themselves I use doenjang, which is a Korean fermented soybean paste. It’s along the lines of miso, which is a Japanese fermented soybean paste. If you can’t find doenjang, miso is a totally acceptable substitute. I’d use red miso for its stronger flavor, but any will work. I also add some gochujang, which is a Korean red pepper paste and absolutely delicious! If you can’t find it you can leave it out or use sriracha (it’s different but would still be good). The rest of the flavor in the patties themselves comes from soy sauce (my preference is low sodium tamari, but any work), garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar. A drizzle of oil adds richness and touch of juiciness, and breadcrumbs hold the patties together.
Let’s talk tempeh.
Tempeh is made of naturally fermented soybeans, and it comes in cakes, or blocks if you will. It’s a traditional Indonesian preparation of soybeans and is considered unprocessed (or minimally processed, pretty much everything we eat is processed in some way). Though it comes in a cake, it’s easy to crumble it up and turn it into a patty. To do so, I steam the tempeh in water and the seasonings. This does two things. It softens the tempeh so that it can be formed into a different shape, and it causes the tempeh to absorb flavor. It even has a side benefit, in that if the tempeh is a bit bitter it helps get rid of any bitterness. Sometimes tempeh can be slightly bitter, and this is particularly true of less fresh tempeh. With this recipe there is so much amazing flavor going on that you don’t even have to worry about bitterness.
How to steam the tempeh:
Well I say steam but really it’s being boiled in the water with the lid ajar until the small amount of water mostly boils dry. You want to keep an eye on it so as soon as the water has boiled off (or mostly anyway) you can turn off the heat. If you’re doing this step in a small pot, it might not completely boil dry in the time frame even with the lid ajar, so in this case you’ll strain off excess water at the end. When the tempeh is done steaming we need it to cool down enough to touch. You can just let time do the work here, or transfer it to a freezer safe bowl and stick it in the freezer for a 5-ish minutes to cool quickly.
Make the vegan Korean BBQ burger patties:
The only other ingredient we need for our burger patties is breadcrumbs, which act as the binder. I like to use panko breadcrumbs, but regular ones should do the trick as well! Now that the tempeh has cooled enough to touch, get right in there with your hands and crumble up the chunks of tempeh and mix it the bread crumbs. It won’t lose all texture thanks to the soybeans in the tempeh. At this point you have your patty mixture so just divide it up and shape them into burgers!
Troubleshooting the mixture:
It should be a pretty consistent recipe, but depending on how dry the tempeh got you might need more or less bread crumbs. If you mix it all together and find dry spots, drizzle in a bit of water, oil, or even a splash of soy sauce (don’t get heavy handed with the soy sauce though). If we’re being honest these could have used a teaspoon or so of water, but it worked out fine. If it’s still a bit wet or sticky, then add some more breadcrumbs!
Cooking the tempeh burgers:
One of my favorite things about tempeh burgers is that they are very non fussy. No baking needed (that would dry them out), just throw them on a skillet and let fry on both sides until browned. They’re sturdy enough that they should hold up to a grill, but I haven’t tested them on one yet.
Can I make them gluten free?
You certainly can! Make sure to use tamari which is gluten free, and use doenjang or miso that is certified gluten free. Also make sure to use a gluten free gochujang. Some are but not all. Load up the burgers into a gluten free bun, or enjoy as lettuce wraps.
The Korean barbecue glaze:
So the patties on their own make for a fine burger. You can eat it as is, and I’m sure you’d have a grand old meal, but seriously, take those five extra minutes to make my Korean BBQ sauce and glaze these babies up! You only need about 1/3 or 1/2 of the recipe to glaze the burgers, so your options are 1: double the burger recipe (which you probably want to do anyway because they’re yummy and the recipe only makes 4 patties) or 2: halve the BBQ sauce. Third option of course is to have extra BBQ sauce and add it to veggies or tofu or whatever. Yum. You brush the glaze on the burgers after they’re done cooking. It’s a very flavorful glaze, so don’t get too heavy handed here or your burgers will be too salty. I just brush some over the top of the patty only.
The Toppings:
I like to keep it simple with these tempeh burgers as they are super flavorful as is. The burgers are topped with a kimchi slaw and I slathered some gochujang mayo over the bottom bun. To make gochujang mayo I just mixed vegan mayonnaise with a bit of gochujang to taste. You can also just use plain mayo! The cabbage and kimchi slaw takes only a few minutes to stir together and makes a fabulous topping so I recommend you make it! It’s kimchi, cabbage, and vegan mayo with a drizzle of rice vinegar. What more could a person ask for! Nothing. Make these burgers, load them up, and dig in! If you make these vegan Korean BBQ burgers, leave a comment below and rate the recipe on the recipe card. And please share your photos with me on Instagram, tag @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea. I love seeing your recreations! To make gochujang mayo mix together vegan mayo and gochujang to taste. This is completely optional, it’s great with plain mayo too!
Jaeraesik Soybean Paste (1.1 lb) By CJ Haechandle San-J Organic Reduced Sodium Gluten Free Tamari Soy Sauce -- 20 fl oz - 2 pc Marukan Rice Vinegar, 24 Ounce (Pack of 2) CJ Haechandle Gochujang, Hot Pepper Paste, 1kg (Korean Spicy Red Chile Paste, 2.2 lbs.)
*If using a full sodium soy sauce, cut back on the soy sauce by 2 tbsp. Microwave directions: mix everything but cornstarch slurry together in microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each time. When sugar dissolves add cornstarch slurry and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each increment, until thickened.
Jaeraesik Soybean Paste (1.1 lb) By CJ Haechandle CJ Haechandle Gochujang, Hot Pepper Paste, 1kg (Korean Spicy Red Chile Paste, 2.2 lbs.) Marukan Rice Vinegar, 24 Ounce (Pack of 2) San-J Organic Reduced Sodium Gluten Free Tamari Soy Sauce -- 20 fl oz - 2 pc
Marukan Rice Vinegar, 24 Ounce (Pack of 2)
