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Tuna tofu miso mini burgers
I do like mini-burgers for bentos - they’re easy to make, easy to eat, and cute. This time it’s a tuna and tofu burger flavored with miso. Canned tuna is a versatile and handy staple to have around. I always seem to have at least a couple around - you may too. And it’s cheap, so if you live in the U.S. and are feeling a bit poor today after filing your taxes, these will help a bit in stretching your food budget. It’s better if you make the burgers with oil canned tuna, but water canned will do. They’re quick to mix up in a plastic bag, and cook up in a few minutes.
Recipe: Tuna tofu miso mini burgers
Makes 6-8 mini burgers
- 1 standard can (200g / 7 oz or so) tuna, oil-packed or water packed
- 1/2 block (1 block = 300g or 10.5 oz) extra firm tofu
- 2 Tbs. dry plain breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbs. finely chopped green onion
- 1 Tbs mild white miso or other miso of your choice - for a spicy version, use kochujang (more about kochujang)
Drain the tuna very well. Drain the tofu, wrap in a couple of layers of paper towel, and gently squeeze out more moisture.
Dump everything in a plastic bag. Mix very well by squishing the bag around. This part is rather fun.
In the meantime, heat up a nonstick frying pan with a little olive oil.
When everything is evenly mixed, take out spoonfuls of the mixture from the bag, form into little burgers, and fry on each side for a couple of minutes until browned.
[Edit:] It seems some people have had trouble getting the burgers to hold together. The keys are to drain the tuna very well, especially if you are using the water-packed variety, and to really mix and knead everything together thoroughly until the texture is quite fine and paste-like. If that still doesn’t work, add some egg (just egg white if you are watching the calories will do fine).
Variation
This paste is also good for making interesting tasting grilled tuna sandwiches. Just mound on top of a slice of bread and grill in a toaster oven, optionally with a little cheese on top.
More bento-appropriate mini burgers: meat and tofu mini-burgers, black bean mini-burgers.
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16 comments
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this recipe sounds tasty,
this recipe sounds tasty, but do you really need to use a plastic bag? you can’t just mix it with a fork or your hands? the plastic bag trick just seems wasteful and unnecessary (even if it is fun).
You could always re-use
You could always re-use clean produce bags. (I know, I try to cut them out too, but sometimes they’re unavoidable!)
tofu substitution
Hi Makiko,
This really looks like a great bento item and I want to try it but I can’t eat tofu it gives me a stomach ache but I am fine with miso. Can you suggest something else to add in stead so that the burgers will not crumble apart?
thanks!
The plastic bag is a time
The plastic bag is a time saving (and mess-saving) device - you could of course use your hands or a fork. (I actually wash out plastic bags and re-use them a few times!)
Ella instead of tofu, you could use an egg. It would act as a binder. You may need to add a bit more breadcrumbs. HTH!
egg instead of tofu
I made this last week with the egg instead of tofu and baked them in the oven; they were FANTASTIC!
love them
I WILL make those mini tofu burgers! And I may freeze them (not sure of the résult but we’ll see)
I’m glad I’m not the
I’m glad I’m not the only one that re-uses plastic bags. My roommate thinks I’m crazy. On another note, these look really good, so I’ll have to give them a try (especially since canned tuna is so darned cheap). However, I’m thinking I might add a little re-hydrated mehijiki into mine.
Plastic bag life progression
Hijiki should work great (like in ganmodoki/hiryouzu (deep fried tofu burgers sort of)) I just wanted to keep it down to a few ingredients for simplicity here.
Here’s how plastic bags progress around here:
A good quality zip bag lasts at least for 5-6 uses this way… Saves money too!
oh yay! I have all those
oh yay! I have all those ingredients at home already!
I made these on the weekend
I made these on the weekend and they were unbelieveably delicious (and I dont even like tuna that much!)
Thank you!
I tried this recipe last night, using canned salmon instead of tuna and substituting panko for the bread crumbs because that’s what I had in my pantry…it turned out great, and my boyfriend loved it too (Leftovers are in his bento today and he couldn’t be happier). Also tried your blanched spinach with toasted sesame seeds and mirin-soy dressing, really wonderful. Anyway, thanks, and just wanted to say that I love your site. :)
Another triumph!
Made these tonight (double the quantity), we really enjoyed them and they were simplicity itself to prepare - ‘hardest’ part was draining the tofu and tuna. My husband liked them so much he wolfed them down in an instant. I just asked his opinion but his only recollection is hazy, like something he had in a dream - a very good dream. He’s really looking forward to eating the rest, which are already packed into his lunchbox for tomorrow. Today we had them with Thai sweet chilli sauce, but we want to try them with ponzu, and also with a Korean style dipping sauce we like made of 1 measure each of shoyu, water & rice vinegar and 1/2 a measure of sugar. They seem so versatile.
it’s really great to hear
it’s really great to hear so many people like this :)
The first batch fell apart
Like a previous commenter, I too used panko, my first batch fell apart and I ended up with tuna/tofu scramble. My second attempt I added 2 tsp. extra of miso and they held together quite nicely. Very delicious.
Brilliant and cute storecupboard stand-by
Thanks Maki,
I made these at the weekend and I was really pleased at how well they stayed together.
The only difference was that I used bran instead of breadcrumbs. I bought a load a few months pack and have found that bran (the sawdust stuff - not a breakfast cereal) works very well as a healthy alternative to breadcrumbs - try coating a salmon steak in beaten egg then bran and fry gently on a non-stick fry-pan. It works a treat for a diet-friendly version of battered food!
Keep up the good work - I really enjoy this website (and Just Hungry) and appreciate the amount of effort you put into it!
They fell apart for me too
Hi maki! After much procrasination i finally got around to making this. The problem was my tuna wasn’t sticking together somehow and I took the advice of a previous comment and mixed in a beaten egg. They held together nicely after that. I wonder why mine wasn’t holding well initially.. rather odd.. but anyway it tasted fantastic but I’ve run out of miso now and won’t be able to make this again anytime soon.. =(
Great recipe and thanks for sharing it!
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