Asian Chicken Burgers

Who doesn't love a delicious stir fry and who doesn't love burgers?! Why not put them together?! This burger was surprisingly really good and really good for you too.  When I tasted it I said "Wow, this tastes like a stir fry on a bun!"  I like to grind my own boneless skinless chicken breasts but you can always just pick up some ground chicken.  You can swap the meat for whatever you like but chicken made it light enough and let the other flavors really shine through as well.

Ok some of these ingredients might be hard to find, but if you have a local Asian mart- they will definitely be there.  Even your larger supermarkets have an ethnic aisle- go explore it.  If you can't find them, don't worry, we can substitute.

Ginger: I'm pretty sure everyone knows what this is.  It is cheap and easy to find.  Buy a big piece, peel it with either a peeler or a spoon and then use what you need and pop the rest in the freezer in a ziplock bag- it will last forever in there and is actually easier to grate the next time.

Hoisin Sauce: (pronounced hoy-zun) It is a Chinese BBQ sauce really.  It is made with soybean paste, spices and garlic so the flavor profile is sweet, salty and tangy so if you really can't find it use 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of honey (or sugar) and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.  This should be similar enough.

Sriracha: (pronounced see-rah-cha) One of my favorite hot sauces of all time.  It is SPICY! but delicious.  We use it on everything from eggs to burgers- I put a little extra on the plate for dipping too. If you can't find this then just use any hot sauce.

Sesame Oil: this stuff is like liquid awesomeness.  You only need a small amount but the flavor and smell is wonderful.  It smells like sesame seeds! Surprise! Remember to only use a little for dressing salads or stir frys- this is not an oil to cook with.  Keep in your fridge to give it a longer shelf life. If you can't find this you can just omit it or sprinkle the whole thing with toasted sesame seeds.

Ingredients

• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts ground- I would say this would be about 1-2 lbs of meat.  I came out with 6 burgers.
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2-3 scallions, chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sriracha
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (I like the low sodium one)
• 1 big handful of bread crumbs (Panko would be great here.  If the meat still feels too moist just add more bread crumbs)
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put everything in a bowl and combine.  Form into patties and put on a baking sheet. Push an indent in the middle so the burgers don't puff up in the middle- so you will have nice flat burgers.
   
3. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until done.  Since these are chicken they need to be cooked completely through to 160-165 degrees F.  I used my trusty digital thermometer of course!
4. Then I just topped with some simple Asian slaw and served alongside my Faux Fried Zucchini Sticks
5. A sesame bun or whole grain bun would be great (I had no choice but to use Italian bread, but it was still good)

Oh and here's the slaw on top (cabbage would be great in this too):

• 1 green pepper, sliced thin
• 1 small package of alfalfa sprouts
• 1 carrot grated
• toss with 1 tsp of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce