Labanos Burger Steak

Last week, we harvested our first batch of home-grown labanos (radishes). Of course, we were so excited at first that almost every meal we had had fresh labanos salad until each of us didn’t want to even smell a single radish, LOL!

We obviously had excess radish and the boys didn’t want to eat a single radish anymore. But I didn’t want it to go to waste and I thought, well if they don’t see the radish, they’ll eat the dish. What better way to hide radishes in a dish than to make burgers! Anyway, I already tried mixing in turnips and carrots when I make burger patties or lumpiang shanghai filling so I knew it would work. To make the burgers yummier for ulam, I then thought of mixing the grilled burger patties with mushroom gravy.

And so, my  very own creation, Labanos Burger Steak, was born!

I’m now sharing the recipe with you guys so you can also try serving it at home.

Ingredients

For the burger patties:

1/2 kilo ground round beef or lean beef
1 cup shredded radishes, pressed to drain its juices
1/2 cup all purpose-flour
2 whole eggs
1 cup finely chopped white onions
1/4 cup finely chopped garlic
a pinch of Ajinomoto Umami Seasoning
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper

For the mushroom gravy:

1 small can of sliced button mushrooms
1 pack mushroom gravy mix
1 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp butter
chopped parsley

Procedure:

1. Combine all the burger patty ingredients in a big bowl. Make sure that everything is mixed well.
2. Scoop 1/2 cup of the burger patty mixture and roll into a ball.
3. Place the ball on top of a pre-heated and oiled stove top grill and gently flatten to create a perfectly round burger patty. It would be up to you to decide whether you want your patties thick or not. I made thick ones, by the way.
4. After three minutes on low fire, turn the patties over. The time would be shorter for flatter patties.
5. Prepare mushroom gravy mix as per package instructions.
6. On a separate pan, sauté the sliced button mushrooms in butter.
7. Pour in the mushroom gravy mix. You may adjust the thickness of the sauce by carefully adding more water. You would want a sauce that’s not too thick.
8. Arrange cooked burger patties in a dish/platter. Pour enough mushroom gravy sauce to cover the patties and garnish with chopped parsley.
9. Serve with rice and your choice of siding.

My Labanos Burger Steak was a hit! With that recipe, I was able to make six thick and big burger patties. There are four people in our household and we finished all five patties for dinner because Rap had two. He even reserved the last burger patty for his breakfast which meant he really loved my creation. Oh by the way, there were no violent reactions whatsoever when I told them I used the leftover labanos as extender.

For those concerned about using Ajinomoto Umami Seasoning, please know that it’s perfectly safe to use. The pure monosodium glutamate gives the umami taste that makes dishes tasty and delicious. Recognized as the 5th basic taste, umami also comes from the Japanese words umai (delicious) and mi (taste). MSG has been used as a flavor enhancer for nearly a century now and almost all dishes and packaged food we eat have MSG either in pure form or as an ingredient of a seasoning mix. Worldwide agencies such as the US FDA, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization recognize MSG as one of the safest food ingredients there is. Of course, as with any other substance, MSG should also be used in moderation.

I’m not a kitchen genius nor a nutrition expert but I know that mixing shredded radishes in my burger patty adds fiber to the meal (which my husband and son badly needs, by the way). This dish is so easy to prepare and economical, too! I spent less than 200 pesos for all the ingredients I used. I bet your family will love it either with sauce or without. Hope you try it out and tell me how it goes by leaving a comment to this post!

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