3G Chinese Hamburger

Fong family comfort food: "Chinese hamburger", "yummy rice", and 
stir-fried vegetables

The Ingredients (for 4 to  6 servings):

• 550 g (or 1¼ lb) of ground bison meat
• 450 g (or 1 lb) of ground pork
• 35 g (or ¼ cup) of Chinese salted black beans
• 15 g (or 5 to 6 cloves) of garlic
• 15 g (or a 1-inch piece) of ginger
• 1 bunch of scallions weighing approximately 175 g (or 6 oz)
• 30 ml (or 2 tablespoons) of sesame oil
• 60 ml (or ¼ cup) of  soy sauce

The Method:

1. Place the ground meats on a medium-size, sturdy chopping board.
2. On a smaller board or in a food processor, finely chop the garlic and ginger together.
3. Add the black beans and chop them roughly.
4. Finely chop the scallions.
5. Add the black bean mixture and the scallions to the meat on the chopping board.
   
    
6. Using a large knife or (preferably) a cleaver, chop through the meats and aromatics systematically, frequently turning and folding the mixture over on itself until it is thoroughly chopped and mixed together.
7. Finally, turn the meat mixture with the cleaver and pat it down at the same time to form a large hamburger-like patty.
   
8. Place water in a large steamer on the stove and bring it to a boil.
9. Place the sesame oil in a shallow bowl that will hold the hamburger and will also fit into the top of the steamer.
   
   
   
10. Place the hamburger into the bowl.
11. Drizzle the soy sauce over the hamburger.
12. Off-heat, place the hamburger into the top tier of the steamer, place it into the lower tier, and cover it.
13. Steam the hamburger for 30 minutes, basting with the soy-sesame mixture every 10 minutes.
    

The Story:

1G: My mother-in-law used to make "Chinese hamburger" quite regularly when her children were growing up and also when our children were growing up. It was a great family favorite. She used a mixture of pork and shrimp, which gave it a very different taste from that of the recipe above. 

2G: When my sister-in-law and my daughter Megan (whose hands you see in some of the photos here) became allergic to shrimp they got together and figured out a beef-and-pork version that Megan has been making for her boyfriend-fiance-husband for several years. He always looks forward to Chinese hamburger meals. 

3G: For this most recent version, Megan decided to use bison instead of beef and the new taste and texture were immediate favorites for all of us.