Succulent shrimp coated with crispy panko, topped with thinly sliced cabbage, homemade tartar sauce, and sandwiched in soft brioche buns, this Japanese-inspired Ebi Katsu Burger (Shrimp Cutlet Burger) could be your next best burger cookout!
Do you have a favorite burger that you crave sometimes? I have one, and it’s Ebi Katsu (Shrimp Cutlet) Burger (海老カツバーガー) from Japanese burger shops like Mos Burger and Lotteria.
What is Ebi Katsu Burger?
Simply it’s Shrimp Cutlet Burger. It’s a burger with shrimp patty that is covered in panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried. The best way to describe Ebi Katsu is it’s a shrimp version of tonkatsu (pork) or chicken katsu. Wrapped in a crispy panko shell, it’s so good with tartar sauce and shredded cabbage inside soft burger buns.
Today not only we’re making it at home, we’re going to make BAKED Ebi Katsu, instead of deep frying!
How To Make Ebi Katsu Burger BAKED
I’ll show you how to make delicious ebi katsu with the same technique I used for my Baked Tonkatsu, Baked Chicken Katsu, Baked Croquette, and Crispy Salmon recipes.
Pre-toast Panko
We pre-toast the panko in a frying pan till it turns the optimal golden brown color. That way, panko looks like they are deep fried and the texture of panko is crisp as if they were deep fried. Here’s a quick video to show you on how I did it for tonkatsu.
Watch How to Make Baked Tonkatsu 揚げないとんかつの作り方
Tender and juicy pork loin wrapped in crispy golden panko crust, serve with tonkatsu sauce and freshly ground sesame seeds.
Plump Shrimp Patty
You could chop all the shrimp into paste form to make the burger patty. But we won’t do that for my shrimp patty. I like plump shrimp texture when I bite into the burger, so what I do is to create grid lines by cutting shallow cuts on one side of the shrimp. This way the shrimps become more pliable, and you can form a patty shape with 3-4 shrimps, depending on the burger bun size.
Ebi Katsu Burgers in fast food restaurants use smaller shrimps (because they are cheaper), but if you’re making it at home, you can buy larger shrimps to make Ebi Katsu Burger. It’s the benefit of home cooking! And the larger shrimps definitely has better texture.
Thinly Shredded Cabbage
Why shredded cabbage? I often receive this question when my readers read my tonkatsu and chicken katsu recipes. Shredded cabbage is always served with katsu, it’s the norm in Japan. The crisp texture of cabbage and refreshing green leaves complements deep fried dishes well. So almost always, deep fried katsu burger includes shredded cabbage. The tip to cut cabbage super thinly? Use a sharp knife, and practice. 🙂
Homemade Tartar Sauce
Panko crusted seafoods such as crab croquette and Ebi Fry are typically served with tartar sauce in Japan. If you have your favorite recipe, you can use it. Otherwise, my recipe here is a quick and delicious recipe that can be handy.
Burger Buns
I use brioche buns for this burger, but you can use any buns you like. These buns are from Drager’s, a local market here in the SF Bay Area. When I was shopping for meat there, I found these buns nearby and I really love how fluffy and soft they are. Trader Joe’s now sell brioche buns too, but the size of buns is larger than what I wanted.
BAKED KATSU RECIPE
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Ebi Katsu Burger (Shrimp Cutlet Burger)
Ingredients
- 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (for toasting panko)
- 12 large shrimp
- freshly ground black pepper
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) (4 Tbsp)
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (for eggs)
- 3 brioche buns or burger buns
- 3 leaves cabbage (add more if you like)
Tartar sauce
- ¼ onion (or 1 shallot)
- 8 cornichons or gherkins
- ½ cup Japanese mayonnaise (8 Tbsp)
- ½-1 Tbsp white wine (can use alternatively use Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar)
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine 2 cups panko and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and toast over medium heat until golden brown.
- Transfer panko to a shallow dish and allow to cool. I make extra as you don't want to find out later that you don't have enough toasted panko. Once cooled, save half of the toasted panko in an airtight container to keep it fresh. You may need to use this extra portion when you're breading.
- Lay the shrimp on the cutting board and make small incisions (⅛ inch, 3 mm) lengthwise and widthwise (grid pattern) on one side of the shrimp. Do not cut through. This helps shrimp become more pliable and cook faster. Using 3-4 shrimp, make a round shape that is about the size of your buns. If the shrimp is not pliable, make small incisions, so it’s easier to make a nice round shape.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt.
- Prepare flour and egg. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the egg. The olive oil will help the panko adhere to the shrimp.
- Dredge each shrimp patty in the flour to coat completely and pat off the excess flour.
- Then dip into the beaten egg.
- Transfer to toasted panko and coat the shrimp with toasted panko without moving the shrimps. Press on the panko flakes to make sure they adhere to the shrimp. You want to maintain the patty shape as much as possible.
- Scoop patty up with a spatula and flip over to your hand to remove excess panko that might be sitting on the shrimp.
- Transfer to the baking sheet and bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 15 minutes.
- While baking the shrimp, shred the cabbage leaves. Cut off the tough core of the cabbage and then roll up the cabbage leaves to thinly slice.
- Make the tartar sauce. Mince the onion and soak in water for 10 minutes to remove the bitterness.
- Mince the cornichons.
- Combine the minced onion and cornichons in a bowl. Add ½ cup mayonnaise.
- Add the ½ - 1 Tbsp white wine until the desired consistency and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Take out from the oven and let cool on a wire rack so that the bottom of shrimp doesn’t get soggy.
- Heat a frying pan and toast the buns. Spread mustard on the buns.
- Place ebi katsu, then shredded cabbage, and finally place tartar sauce on top. Serve immediately.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers (ebi katsu) in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 2 days and in the freezer for a month.
The shop in the food court at the Japanese market where I used to buy these closed down (I understand they did reopen not far away). I miss getting my ebi katsu burger! Now I can make them myself. YAY!
Hi Linda! Yes! Hope you enjoy them. If you don’t mind, you can make regular ebi katsu burger with deep fried… both so delicious (I like deep fried one better…. just because it’s deep fried!). 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hello and what a beautiful recipe and description. Though we don’t eat meat or fish, I think I’ll try adapting it for veggies — asparagus, mushrooms, artichokes, some combination — it’s too good to pass up. And, with the slaw and the brioche, a really luxe treat. Thank you, Celesta
Hello Celesta! Sure, vegetables sounds terrific! I might enjoy eggplant too! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Another wonderful baked recipe… We have the rest of your baked pork, chicken and fish dishes on our meal rotation.. This will be a great addition…
My wife loves prawns so this is a must make for her…
Thank you… :O)
Hi Ross! Thank you! I’m so happy to hear you tried all different ingredients for baked katsu recipe! I hope your wife enjoys this one with tartar sauce! 🙂
I do appreciate the nice clear instructions. Also too, I have finally found a local store that sells at least some Japanese products. Progress.
Hi Cat! Thank you so much for your kind words. I often worry about my poor English, but maybe my English is simple and it’s easier for everyone to follow. Ex, I don’t write long sentences for step by step. 😉 I personally can’t follow a big paragraph of step by step…. Haha.
Can’t wait to get some shrimp to make this . Tomorrow’s dinner and maybe some for lunch the next day! Great idea! Thank you.
Hi Jane! I hope you enjoy this recipe! I make a few extra and freeze them for my weekday lunch. 😀
Hi Nami!
Can’t wait to try it :-). Thanks!
I can see you’re drinking Hoegaarden beer with it, you should try the more “local” Blue Moon. For me it’s one of the best white beer!
Cheers!
Bastien
Hi Bastien! Hope you enjoy! I actually don’t drink beer… He hee. It’s Mr. JOC who likes drinking beer and insisted to put beer in the background. LOL. He drinks Blue Moon too!
Whenever we travel to japan with my wife i always love to try ebi burger at mos burger. Today i tried this recipe with mi japanese senseis and they said that it taste even better than what they used to have at japan, and i also made your yakitori recipe along with a cabernet franc, it was a huge success, thank you so mucho for all your hardwork in your blog and for inspiring all of us.
ps: once again sorry for my poor english i have tried my best 🙂
Hi Dario! I am so happy to hear that you tried this recipe and your Japanese sensei even liked it! Thank you for your kind feedback!
And I’m glad your yakitori came out well too! Thank YOU for trying my recipes and supporting my blog! Your English is perfect. I’m so happy that you left a comment. Thank you!
McDonalds’ in Japan actually sell these, it was pretty good if I do say so myself.
Hi Ernest! Yeah, McDonald’s, MOS Burger, and Lotteria has this burger. I like MOS Burger’s the best! 🙂
I prepared and ate this ebi katsu burguer and were delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Martha! I’m so happy to hear you tried this recipe! Thank you very much for your kind feedback. 🙂
hi! can you post one using fish? thanks!
Hi Gladys! You can use salmon or other fish to make this recipe (https://www.justonecookbook.com/crispy-salmon/) and use it as filling for the burger. 🙂
thank you! You’re blog has been such a big help for someone who’s just learning to cook. Tried the butter shoyu chicken the other night and was glad to see that there weren’t any leftovers
I’m so happy to hear that you liked the chicken. 🙂 I hope you will have lots of fun cooking Japanese food at home! xo
Aloha, Nami!!! Just made the Ebi Katsu burger for lunch today. My family loved it!!! I love all of your recipes that I’ve tried. Easy to follow using the pics/vids. Thanks for sharing your love of Japanese food! ありがとうございます。
Aloha Lori! I’m so happy to hear you gave this recipe a try and your family enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind words and encouragement! どうもありがとう！！ You made my day!