When we were at The Voice last week, craft services (otherwise known as GIANT TABLES OF FOOD CRACK) had a Chicken Lettuce Wrap Bar. I've had the ground chicken mixture in the crispy, buttery lettuce before, but never with an array of such creative and delicious toppings, like a variety of peppers, hot sauces and sesame seeds. I thought this was such a good idea that I wanted to recreate it at home, only with my own special (lazy) twist. Burgers! Burgers are always easy, right? You take your choice of protein: chicken, turkey, beef, etc., and add all sorts of veggies and spices that satisfy your desired cuisine. In this case? Asian Burgers! With ginger, garlic, cilantro, soy sauce, hoisin and water chestnuts... these burgers have all the traditional flavors of chicken lettuce wraps in burger form. We decided to eat them on buns, but you could totally do the butter lettuce route, and we topped them with more hoisin, avocado and orange bell pepper.
Asian Chicken Burgers
(Makes 4 large burgers)
1 lb. ground chicken
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3 green onions, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup panko
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of the vegetable oil along with the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the green onions, garlic and ginger, and sauté for roughly 5 minutes, until garlic begins to brown and everything smells heavenly. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit. In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, egg, hoisin, soy sauce, panko, cilantro and water chestnuts. Then add the green onion mixture, and stir everything together. Divide chicken into 4 burger patties. In same skillet, heat remaining two tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Cook patties for roughly 6-8 minutes per side.
