Kitakata Ramen Burger — Kitakata, Japan

The Kitakata Ramen Burger replaces the bread bun of a Western burger with two disks of ramen noodles, boiled, bound with egg, pressed into a mold and pan-fried until the outside turns crisp and lightly caramelized while the inside stays chewy. Between the two noodle patties sits a seasoned meat patty brushed with a soy-based glaze, along with a few fresh vegetables. It is reported from Kitakata, a city in Fukushima Prefecture long associated with a light, soy-based ramen style whose curly noodles lend themselves to this treatment. The format itself is a modern crossover between American burger culture and Japanese noodle cooking, and it has since traveled to food stalls and noodle shops beyond the city that adopted the same noodle-bun idea. To prepare it, fresh ramen noodles are boiled just short of fully tender, tossed with beaten egg and a little sesame oil to help them bind, then packed firmly into a ring mold and chilled before frying in a well-oiled pan on both sides until golden and set. A beef or pork patty is seasoned, seared, and finished with a reduction of soy sauce, mirin and sugar reminiscent of ramen tare. The noodle patties are assembled around the meat with lettuce and sliced scallion. What separates this version from an ordinary burger is the bun itself: the noodles keep a faint wheat-and-broth flavor from the ramen tradition they come from, and the crisp fried surface holds together only if the noodles are pressed firmly and chilled beforehand. Portions are usually built and eaten as a single sandwich rather than sliced, and the glaze is kept close to a ramen tare rather than a Western burger sauce.