Cooking for two

No beef with these saucy chicken burgers

Sticky Lemongrass Burgers
Sticky Lemongrass Burgers

These are lip-smacking good. The burgers taste just as great cold as they do straight from the stove.

The recipe gave us a chance to try the tubes of fresh pureed herbs we often see in supermarkets' refrigerated produce section. If you can't find the tubes, simply puree or mince the lemongrass, garlic and ginger yourself.

Serve with sliced cucumber, fresh basil, mint and cilantro leaves and lime wedges.

Sticky Lemongrass Burgers

3 1/2 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast

6 1/2 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thigh

1/2 bunch green onion

2 stems cilantro

1/2 tablespoon Gourmet Garden brand lemongrass paste

1/2 teaspoon Gourmet Garden brand ginger paste OR fresh ginger grated into a paste

1/2 teaspoon Gourmet Garden brand garlic paste OR fresh garlic minced into a paste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

1/2 tablespoon plain rice vinegar

1/2 tablespoon water

1/2 tablespoon sugar

Hamburger buns or onion rolls, toasted, for serving

Cut the chicken meat into chunks, discarding visible fat, transferring them to a food processor as you work. Pulse until just coarsely chopped.

Coarsely chop all but 2 of the green onions, reserving them for garnish. Transfer the chopped green onion to the food processor, along with the cilantro. Pulse for 5 seconds or just until incorporated. Transfer to a mixing bowl, stir in the lemongrass, ginger and garlic pastes; cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes, then shape the mixture into 2 somewhat flat patties of equal size.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the patties and cook for 4 minutes, until crisped on the bottom, then turn them over and cook for 4 minutes on the second side.

Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, water and sugar to the skillet, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 minutes, turning the burgers so they are coated, until the sauce in the pan has become sticky. The burgers should be cooked through. Turn them over to coat them evenly in the pan sauce just before you remove them from the pan.

Place the burgers between sets of toasted buns. Cut the remaining green onions into thin shreds; garnish the burgers with them. Serve right away.

Makes 2 servings.

Recipe adapted from Burgers: The Exciting Varieties Are Endless

Food on 12/17/2014

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