Miso-Shiitake Umami Burger

The savory one: roasted shiitakes, crumbled tofu, toasted walnuts, and sticky brown rice bound with white miso and ginger, seared in sesame oil, and topped with quick-pickled cucumber and scallion.

💪 Where's the protein? Right here — 24g

Tofu (10g)
Whole-grain bun (7g)
Walnuts + shiitake (4g)
Brown rice + miso (3g)

🍃 Sugar-Free Option

No added sweeteners in this recipe — it's sugar-free as written. Any sugars in the nutrition panel come from whole vegetables, grains, and fruit only.

Ingredients (all organic)

✓
✓
✓Walnuts, 1/2 cup, toasted
✓Cooked short-grain brown rice, 3/4 cup
✓
✓Ginger, 1 tbsp, grated
✓Scallions, 4 (2 for the mix, 2 for serving)
✓Garlic, 2 cloves
✓Ground flaxseed, 1 tbsp
✓Toasted sesame oil, 2 tsp
✓Olive oil, 1 tbsp
✓Rice vinegar, 2 tbsp
✓Persian cucumber, 1, sliced thin
✓Black sesame seeds, 1 tsp
✓Whole-grain burger buns, 4

Dotted ⓘ ingredients have photos and store locations in the field guide.

How to Prep

1Roast the shiitakes on a dry sheet pan at 425°F for 15 minutes until shrunken and browned at the edges — roasting concentrates their flavor instead of steaming it out.
2Toss the cucumber with the rice vinegar and set it aside to pickle while you cook.
3Crumble the pressed tofu into a bowl and squeeze out any extra water. Chop the roasted shiitakes and walnuts fine — a few pulses in a food processor.
4Mix the tofu, shiitakes, walnuts, rice, miso, ginger, 2 sliced scallions, garlic, flax, and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Knead with your hands for a full minute — the sticky rice and miso are the glue. Shape 4 patties and chill 20 minutes.
5Sear in the olive oil over medium-high heat, 4 minutes per side, until deeply browned; brush the tops with the remaining sesame oil in the last minute.
6Serve on toasted buns with the drained pickled cucumber, the remaining scallions, and black sesame seeds.

🔪 Starting from raw? The basics (1)

Cooking brown rice

1 cup dry + 2 cups water, pinch of salt: bring to a boil, cover, simmer low 40–45 minutes, rest 10 off heat. Makes about 3 cups. Freezes well in portions.

#burger#high-protein#umami#date-night