Kimchi Rice Burger Recipe Pressed Rice Buns, Crisping Technique & Naturally Gluten-Free — Lotteria Style

Yes, naturally — plain short-grain rice, beef, kimchi and the standard sauce ingredients here don’t involve wheat. If you need a strictly celiac-safe build, still check your specific gochujang and kimchi brands, the same way our Gluten-Free Kimchi Burger page recommends.

Short-grain sticky rice — sushi rice or Korean short-grain rice — held together far better than long-grain or jasmine rice in testing, because of its higher starch content and stickiness once cooked. See our best rice for fried rice guide for how the varieties compare more broadly.

Usually one of two causes: the rice wasn’t packed firmly enough into the mold, or it went into the pan without chilling first. Pressing hard and refrigerating the shaped cake for at least 20 minutes lets the starches set and hold the shape under heat.

No — a small round ramekin, a wide-mouth mason jar lid, or even a measuring cup lined with plastic wrap all work. Any rigid, round vessel that lets you pack the rice firmly and evenly will do.

It’s inspired by that same rice-bun format — invented by Japan’s MOS Burger chain in the 1980s and later adapted by Korean chains like Lotteria — but this version uses a Western-style beef smash patty and kimchi slaw rather than the specific fillings found on any particular restaurant chain’s menu.

Yes. Press and chill the rice cakes up to 24 hours ahead, keeping them covered in the refrigerator, then fry them fresh just before assembling — frying is the one step that shouldn’t be done far in advance.

Yes, uncooked pressed rice cakes freeze reasonably well for up to a month. Thaw fully in the refrigerator before frying — frying from frozen leaves the centre cold while the outside overcooks.

Approximately 480 calories versus 520 for the classic bread-bun version — modestly lower, since rice has a similar calorie density to bread but slightly less fat is used in frying than in buttering and toasting a bun.

A light soy glaze in the final 30 seconds of frying adds a savoury, slightly caramelised crust that plain fried rice cakes don’t develop on their own — it’s a classic rice-burger technique, not a substitute for seasoning the rice itself.

Stage 3, ripe kimchi aged 3–6 weeks, the same as the classic build — the rice bun swap doesn’t change the fermentation guidance. See the full kimchi fermentation stages guide for how each stage tastes.

Serve immediately after frying. Like a toasted bread bun, a fried rice cake softens once it sits in contact with the mayo and slaw moisture, so this isn’t a make-ahead-and-hold sandwich. The optional nori moisture-shield (see above) buys you extra time if you can’t serve instantly.

Not recommended for the bun itself — brown rice lacks the starch stickiness needed to hold a pressed shape together under frying heat. If you want brown rice for nutritional reasons, it works better as a bowl base than as a pressed bun.

Enough for a thin, even coating across the pan — roughly 1 tablespoon per two rice cakes. Too little leaves pale, unevenly browned spots; too much makes the exterior greasy rather than crisp.

Yes. Mix 1 tsp grated cold butter into the 150g portion to compensate for lean poultry’s lower fat content, since it won’t render and crisp on the griddle the way beef fat does.

The base recipe is medium heat. Halve the gochujang in the mayo for milder, or add a thin layer of gochugaru to the patty before flipping for more heat throughout. See our gochujang mayo sauce guide for more ratio options.

Same beef patty, same smash technique, same gochujang mayo and kimchi slaw — only the bread bun is replaced with two pressed, pan-fried rice cakes. See the Kimchi Burger Recipe for the standard version.

Not as written, since it uses beef and dairy cheese. For a plant-based rice-bun option, swap in the black bean patty from the site’s Vegan Black Bean Kimchi Burger recipe and use a plant-based mayo, keeping the rice-bun technique the same.

Season the rice lightly with salt while it’s still warm, before pressing — this seasons the interior evenly. The soy glaze only coats the exterior during frying and isn’t a substitute for seasoning the rice itself.

Skipping the chilling step after pressing. Rice cakes fried immediately after shaping are still warm and loosely bound, and tend to break apart in the pan; a minimum 20-minute chill lets the starches firm up enough to survive frying intact.

It’s a technique borrowed from Japan’s original MOS Burger rice buns: press a piece of roasted nori onto the inner face of each rice cake, the side that touches the filling, before frying. The nori crisps along with the rice and acts as a barrier against the mayo and slaw moisture, so the cake stays intact for longer once assembled. It’s optional, but worth doing if you’ve had buns go soft or fall apart from the inside — see the full technique above.

Yes — brush the chilled rice cakes lightly with oil and air-fry at 400°F (200°C) for about 8–10 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden. It uses less oil than pan-frying but the crust is slightly less even, so brush on the soy glaze in the final minute either way.

This usually means the filling was too wet or oily, not that the rice cake itself was underprepared. Squeeze the kimchi thoroughly and don’t over-sauce the mayo — excess liquid soaks into the rice from the inside during assembly, which no amount of packing or chilling can fully prevent.