My son is a burger fan. A big one. And so one day I decided to try and make something 'different'. I ended up making 3 burgers. A pork, a chicken and a vegetarian burger. Today I share the chicken burger recipe.
I figured, we have satay chicken all the time so why not make it into a burger. The inspiration was Asian food so I made a satay sauce and topped the burger with an Asian salad made from cucumber and carrots. My seal o approval was a picky 5 year old and I figure if he approves then you all will also enjoy.
Makes 4 burgers
4 burger buns
500 grams chicken mince
3 springs of spring onion, chopped
Breadcrumbs
2 large carrots, gratd lengthwise
1 large cucumber, deseeded and grated lengthwise
2 table spoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 large red onion sliced into rings
Lettuce
Mustard
Mayonnaise
For the satay sauce
100 grams chunky peanut butter
Rice wine, 1 tablespoon
Fish sauce, 1 teaspoon (optional)
A pinch of chili flakes (optional)
For this we start backwards because one likes a cold burger.
In a sauce pot, put your chunky peanut butter, rice wine, fish sauce and chili flakes and mix together over a low heat for 5 minutes. Next, assemble your salad in a bowl; cucumber and carrot, sesame seeds, sesame oil and lemon juice, some salt to taste. Gently mix it up and set aside.
Now for the burger. In a bowl, put your chicken mince and spring onions. Now, I add breadcrumbs because I find the mince too wet and sticky and I also find the crumbs help the pattie retain its moisture. There's no set amount to add but I recommend adding breadcrumbs little by little until the meat is less sticky to handle and can easily be shaped.
Once you have your desired consistency, divide the mix into 4 portions. To shape into patties, roll the portions into a ball and then using the palm of your hand, flatten the ball to about the size of the palm of your hand.
NB: Remember that the patties shrink as they cook so don't be tempted to make a super thick pattie or else you'll end up with a chicken ball :-)
I use a cast iron griddle but you can use what you have available. One golden rule, make sure your pan/grill is hot and has been greased before putting the pattie on. This makes sure that the pattie wont stick to the pan/grill. Place your pattie on the pan and cook for about 3 minutes on each side.
Once the patties are all cooked, you may assemble the burger. Spread some mustard and mayonnaise on the bottom slice and then top with some lettuce and then the chicken pattie. Spread some satay sauce over the chicken and then top that with the Asian salad, red onion rings and some avocado. Place the top bun over this and I suggest using a skewer to secure the tower of a burger.
Job done. Enjoy with a side of fries.......or not and prepare to get messy :-)