Spicy Bibim Burgers

My spicy burgers are inspired by Korean Bibimbap (beef rice bowls) and bulgogi beef. The ground beef is marinated in a traditional bulgogi beef marinade and the burgers are topped with bibimbap sides like carrots, spinach, kimchi and a fried egg. 

Serve them with homemade Korean red pepper sauce made with gochujang and you have a hot, fusion, flavourful burger in your hands!

I'm super excited to share this recipe, please leave a comment below if you make them.

Makes 6 burgers 

For the burger patties:

600 gr (21 oz) lean ground beef
1/2 a medium red onion

1/2 an apple or Asian pear

5 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

1-2 tbsp bread crumbs

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp mirin (optional)
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil

Toppings:

2 cups baby spinach 

1 medium carrot, julienned 

1/4 cup kimchi 

6 eggs

2-3 tsp sesame oil

Spicy sauce (mild):

2 tbsp gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), use more for medium or hot spice level
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp honey or brown sugar 
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

1 tsp apple vinegar
1 tsp garlic, minced

For the burger patties:

1) Except for the ground beef, mix all of the ingredients together under the burger section in a food processor or blender. Use it to marinate the ground beef and let it sit for 1 hour or prepare the night before cooking.

2) With your hands, form round patties 2 cm/ 3/4 inch in thickness, packing it in to ensure they don't fall apart. Let them sit for 10 min to settle. You can go ahead and prepare the vegetable toppings and sauce in the meantime. 

3) BBQ the beef patties over high heat for 5 min or in an oiled cast-iron or carbon steel pan for 8-10 min until fully cooked.

Toppings:

1) Sauté the baby spinach for 3 min over medium heat in 1 tsp sesame oil until they've just softened. If using regular spinach, remove stems. Set aside to cool and use as a burger topping.

2) Sauté the julienned carrots over medium heat in 1 tsp sesame oil for 4-5 min until they're very soft. Set aside to cool and use as a burger topping.

3) Fry the eggs, cooking them to over easy or sunny side up as you prefer. TIP: Do this as your last step, after you have cooked the beef so you're ready to place to egg in your burger as the final topping.

Spicy sauce:

Stir together all of the ingredients for the sauce, mix well and set aside.

Assemble your burgers by adding the carrots, spinach and kimchi toppings over your beef patty, with the egg on top of everything. Drizzling the spicy sauce over the egg and/ or spread it on the top of your burger bun.