Tofu Walnut Burgers with Mizuna Greens

I’ve been experimenting with veggie burgers and they are quite easy to make and very tasty. Leftovers make good bento fare. Today, I added mizuna greens and spring onions from our garden to the burgers and the yogurt sauce to add color and fresh flavor. The flavor of mizuna is somewhat like arugula, but much more mild in my opinion. It’s very easy to eat that way and its great in fresh salads.

You can make a lot of substitutions in this burger if you don’t have all the ingredients. I really think walnuts taste good in this and I recommend you keep it in. If you add enough protein in the form of beans or tofu, you probably don’t need to add egg, but sometimes I do.

Tofu Walnut Burger

Makes 4-6 small burgers/patties, serves 2

1 cup firm tofu

1 cup okara (soybean lees) (substitute with cooked mashed beans or lentils)

1/2 cup toasted whole walnuts, ground in a food processor

1/4 cup sprouted wheat cereal (such as Ezekiel Brand)

4-5 mizuna leaves, minced

1 green onion, minced

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons shio-koji (or 1/2 teaspoon salt)

1 teaspoon oil

2 tablespoons potato starch

Oil for frying

1. Heat a pan with oil and add the okara. Lightly toast the okara for 5-10 minutes, until just starting to turn color. Add the tofu and break it up in the pan. Stir-fry for 10 minutes until the okara is cooked and most of the water has evaporated from the tofu. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Turn off the heat. The mixture should be somewhat sticky and dry at the same time. If it’s too wet, cook it a little longer.

2. Using your hands, shape the mixture into burger patties.

3. Heat enough oil in a pan to come up halfway up the sides of the patties. Before adding the burgers into the hot oil, lightly dust it with potato starch. Put into the pan and heat for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with shio-koji yogurt sauce and pita bread.

Shio-Koji Yogurt Sauce

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 teaspoon shio-koji

minced mizuna leaves