I do like mini-burgers for bentos - they're easy to make, easy to eat, and cute. This time it's a tuna and tofu burger flavored with miso. Canned tuna is a versatile and handy staple to have around. I always seem to have at least a couple around - you may too. And it's cheap, so if you live in the U.S. and are feeling a bit poor today after filing your taxes, these will help a bit in stretching your food budget. It's better if you make the burgers with oil canned tuna, but water canned will do. They're quick to mix up in a plastic bag, and cook up in a few minutes.

Recipe: Tuna tofu miso mini burgers

Makes 6-8 mini burgers

• 1 standard can (200g / 7 oz or so) tuna, oil-packed or water packed
• 1/2 block (1 block = 300g or 10.5 oz) extra firm tofu
• 2 Tbs. dry plain breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbs. finely chopped green onion
• 1 Tbs mild white miso or other miso of your choice - for a spicy version, use kochujang (more about kochujang)

Drain the tuna very well. Drain the tofu well (see how to drain tofu properly).

Dump everything in a plastic bag. Mix very well by squishing the bag around. This part is rather fun.

In the meantime, heat up a nonstick frying pan with a little olive oil.

When everything is evenly mixed, take out spoonfuls of the mixture from the bag, form into little burgers, and fry on each side for a couple of minutes until browned.

[Edit:] It seems some people have had trouble getting the burgers to hold together. The keys are to drain the tuna very well, especially if you are using the water-packed variety, and to really mix and knead everything together thoroughly until the texture is quite fine and paste-like. If that still doesn't work, add some egg (just egg white if you are watching the calories will do fine).

Variation

This paste is also good for making interesting tasting grilled tuna sandwiches. Just mound on top of a slice of bread and grill in a toaster oven, optionally with a little cheese on top.

More bento-appropriate mini burgers: meat and tofu mini-burgers, black bean mini-burgers.