Last updated on September 27th, 2022 at 07:20 am
A kimchi burger with crispy crumbed mushrooms, cooling cucumber and mayo. All nestled in a homemade brioche bun. Burger night just got interesting.

I am dedicating these vegan mushroom burgers to Sisyphus. First, let's start with the poor sod's name. Sisyphus. If that hurdle wasn't enough, the gods condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly roll a rock to the top of a mountain where it would promptly roll back down again. That gravity is a nasty mistress, hey?
Stories vary as to how Sisyphus angered the gods but eternity is a long time so it must have been bad. Poor bugger. I had a bit of a rock rolling day today but at least I got to eat burgers at the end of it.
Ok, so comparing myself to Sisyphus is possibly, maybe, in all likelihood overkill but I did have me a day. I woke bright eyed and bushy tailed planning to bake a wonderful banana bread from a recipe my friend gave me. I have tried it several times during playdates and I so wanted to share it with you. And I will.
But not today. Today I made the gorgeous banana and coconut bread, set up the photo shoot and blah. Nothing worked. I hated it. All that work for...blah. So I stepped away, went to the garden to re-group, talk to the husband, get some air before returning to my Thunder-dome. Except when I arrived, one man had entered and already left. A female actually. A dog. A daffy Great Dane puppy with a penchant for eating anything that isn't nailed down. And dang, wouldn't you know it, I forgot to nail down the banana bread.
But unlike Sisyphus' tale, this story has a happy ending; vegan mushroom burgers with the awesome of kimchi. I have been playing around with the flavours for a wee while and I intended a post soon. I didn't know today was the day...but there you have it.
Kimchi + Mushrooms + Brioche = Awesome
These vegan mushroom burgers with kimchi are my new favourite thing. I researched and created a vegan brioche recipe, I found gorgeous kimchi recipes from The Minimalist Baker, Beyond Kimchi and The Simple Veganista but bought mine from our local organics store (don't judge, I was on a mission and unprepared) and finally fried the mushrooms.
In earlier attempts I had tried baking, half-baking and then grilling...but you know what, these mushrooms are best fried. Portobello or swiss mushrooms, rolled in Panko crumbs and shallow fried. It is what it is. And kimchi mushroom burgers are AMAZING.
Sorry Sisyphus, you totally missed out. Sweet brioche burger buns, crunchy crumbed mushrooms, creamy kimchi mayonnaise, spicy kimchi and cooling cucumber.The happiest of endings. Enjoy.
The lovely folk at Thrive Cuisine have put together an interesting piece on the power of the shroom. Check out The Science of Mushrooms for information on my favourite fungus.
UPDATE: I now have a super simple easy kimchi with cabbage on the blog.
If you would like to try a charcoal vegan brioche bun you can find a recipe with my vegan portobello mushroom burger with wasabi sprouts.
Love your burgers? Check out these other vegan burger recipes:
- BBQ Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- Vegan Bao Burgers with Peking Tempeh
- Crispy Quinoa Cauliflower Burgers
- Easy Creole-style Jackfruit Burger
- The Big List of Awesome Vegan Burgers
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If you like this recipe, please check out my cookbook. Great Vegan Meals for the Carnivorous Family is full of simple, carnivore-approved family recipes.
Kimchi Burger with Mushrooms
Ingredients
Brioche Buns
- 1 cup warm water
- ¼ cup dairy-free milk
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 3.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tps salt
- 3 tablespoon vegan butter softened.
- 1 teaspoon agave
- 1 teaspoon almond milk for brushing
Filling
- 5 portobello mushrooms sliced in to half-inch slices
- 2 tablespoon plain flour
- ¼ cup almond/soy milk
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup sunflower oil for shallow frying
Kimchi Mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoon Vegan Mayo or a store-bought mayo
- 3 tablespoon kimchi liquid
- ¼ cup Easy Kimchi with Cabbage or a store-bought variety
To serve
- 1 lebanese cucumber per burger
- ¼ cup kimchi per burger
Instructions
- Combine 1 cup lukewarm water, warm milk, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Stand until foamy, about 5 minutes
- Meanwhile make flax egg.
- In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs.
- Stir in the yeast mixture and flax egg until a dough forms.
- Pour dough onto a clean, un-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, About 8 to 10 minutes.
- Shape dough into a ball and place it in a clean, lightly greased bowl.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. I left mine for about 1.5 hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange 2 to 3 inches apart on baking sheet.
- Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let buns rise in a warm place for around 1 hour.
- Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 205 degrees C (400 F) with the rack in centre of the oven.
- Combine 1 teaspoon almond milk with 1 teaspoon agave and brush on to buns. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown about 15 minutes.
- Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- Combine the mayonnaise and kimchi juice in a bowl and set aside.
- For the mushrooms, put the flour on a plate, the milk in a soup-size bowl and the Panko crumbs on another plate. Sit them beside each other with a large plate at the end to put the finished crumbed mushrooms.
- Roll each slice of the mushroom in the flour, then the milk and finally roll in the crumbs.
- Heat enough oil to fill a fry pan ½ inch.
- Test heat by flicking some cold water in, if it sizzles, it's ready. Shallow fry the mushrooms for around 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Place on kitchen paper to drain.
- To assemble the burgers, slice the buns in half and add a good dollop of kimchi mayonnaise to the bottom half. Add the crumbed mushrooms, followed by as much kimchi as you like and a handful of sliced cucumber.
- Add the bun lid and serve.
Amanda says
Howdy guys. I have had a few comments on Facebook that brioche buns etc are not vegan. My Goodness Kitchen is a plant-based site. If I say mayonnaise in the post, it is vegan mayonnaise. I will identify it as such in the ingredients. The kimchi I used in the recipe is vegan. Also, for your eating pleasure, the brioche recipe I created is 100% vegan. I may not always say "vegan" something in the post, but let's assume it always is. Take care lovelies. xx
kimchichick says
Hey Amanda, these burgers look awesome! I'm going to have to give it a go sometime soon. Bookmarking your page for a future meal. Thanks!
Amanda says
Hey Jules, thank you. I love these burgers - I hope you make them. Let me know how you go if you do. Great name - "kimchichick"
ebeccia1 says
Ok... I needed these burgers like yesterday! But really, I am pinning and for sure making soon! Also your post brought me back to my Greek Mythology class I took one semester of college 🙂
Amanda says
Hahaha! Always happy to add a little nostalgia to the blog. I hope you enjoy the burgers. I am obsessed with them.
Lis @ The Fare Sage says
Stunning pictures. Seems it wasn't such a bad day after all because these burgers are a triumph. Delicious!
Amanda says
Thanks so much Lis. It wasn't a bad day after all!
Lis @ The Fare Sage says
Stunning pictures. Seems it wasn't such a bad day after all because the burgers are a triumph! Delicious.
Keith @ How's it Lookin? says
They look delicious. I love anything with mushrooms, thanks for sharing
Amanda says
Thanks Keith. I love, love, love mushrooms. I hope you try the burgers. Cheers for visiting.