There is this restaurant in Westwood just south of Wilshire in Los Angeles called Fundamental that has this amazing sandwhich with Gochujang Korean hot pepper paste and semame-ish pickled bean sprouts. Here I’ve created a vegetarian version using soy Gimme Lean Beef. I think this would be even more fantastic with a more shreddable wheat protein/seitan. I’ll try that next time.

Gochujang Korean hot pepper paste is one of my favorite condiments. It is slightly sweet, spicy and rich. Serious Eats has a great article about gochujang here.

I didn’t have bean sprouts so I opted for cabbage. Next time, I will try this with shredded protein and bean sprouts, but this version was still worthy of posting. Yum!

Gochujang Sauce
2 tablespoons gochujang
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cube Trader Joe’s frozen garlic (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste, or 1 minced garlic clove)

• Mix it all together.

Pickled Veggies
1 1/2 cups cabbage or bean sprouts
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (if using bean sprouts it might be good to reduce this since they are so delicate)
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. If using cabbage, slice thinly.
2. Mix with rice vinegar and sesame oil.

Burgers
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion sliced
1/2 package Gimme Lean Beef
4 slices bread or buns or rolls
Mayo (optional – I didn’t use any this time, but I think it would have kicked it up a notch!)
Gochujang sauce
Pickled veggies

1. Heat the oil and stir fry the onions until tender, but not so so caramelized.
2. Form your burgers and fry in a little oil for a few minutes on each side until cooked through.
3. Toast your buns, then spread on a little mayo (if using), then slather on your gochujang sauce (yum), then top with the burgers, onions, and pickled veggies. Voila!