Semi-Japanese Style Oven Baked Hambagu (Hamburger Patties)

This is a semi-Japanese inspired hambagu recipe,
Yes, I mean hambagu, not hamburger, not meat patties, just "hambagu," period.

Maybe the main difference is that over here, we have these burger patties with buns,
But in Japan, only the meaty goodness are allowed to stay,
No buns.
If eating as an entree, maybe salads on the side,
On top of that, hambagu is usually served with either rice or different types or spaghetti.

Enough with my babbling, let's start with the recipe!

Ingredients?

Hambagu:
1 lb ground pork
2 medium sized tomatoes
1.4 medium sized onion
2/3 cup of shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup of panko
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of Japanese mayonaise
1 tablespoon of mirin
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika

How?

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line the foil on a baking sheet, it'll save you some cleaning time afterwards.

Finely chop the onion and give the tomatoes a few chops.
Drizzle some olive oil in the pan,
Turn to high heat, toss in chopped onions and sprinkle some salt,
Cook till the aroma comes out, shouldn't take too long since the onions are finely chopped,
Transfer that to a big container.

Put the ground pork inside that container along with panko and mozzarella,
Add more salt and black pepper in,
Combine all the ingredients till fully incorporated.

Now form the mixture into small patties,
Here's how I do it,
I take about a palm-ful of the meat mixture,
Toss them back and forth between my palms,
That's how I get the air out so the patties won't fall apart easily.
Put the patties on the baking sheet,
Evenly place the tomato wedges near the hambagu.

Have another smaller container,
Mix all the sauce ingredients there and pour over the burger patties,
Now into the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, that's it!

(See how juicy it is?!)

Side note:
I'm falling in love with oven baked tomatoes,
In fact, that's why I wanted to use some for this recipe,
The tomatoes get sweeter after baking,
And the juice just burst into your mouth when you bite into it,
Ugh, awesomeness.

Cindy's Rating: 7