This recipe from the Make It Easy cookbook by our very own Stacie Billis works because it gives you tons of bang for your buck. Pre-shredded carrots sit in a quickly whisked mixture while you make the burgers and become an easy, but sophisticated condiment that you can pile high for flavor and crunch or leave off for picky eaters. And the burgers? Toss everything into one bowl, mix, and cook.
We admit that if you don’t normally stock your pantry with Asian cooking staples like fish sauce and sweet chili sauce, this may not be the the right recipe for you. But if you’re open to buying these things, you’ll love this recipe — and probably make it frequently enough to use those new pantry ingredients right up.
PrintThai Chicken Burgers with Quick-Pickled Carrots
- Yield: 4
Description
This recipe from the Make It Easy cookbook by Stacie Billis works because it gives you tons of bang for your buck thanks to pre-shredded carrots and a burger mix that you can mix in one bowl.
Ingredients
For the carrots:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 1 juicy lime)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
Heavy sprinkle of salt
1 1⁄2 cups shredded carrots
For the burgers:
1 pound ground chicken, dark meat preferable
1⁄4 cup chopped scallions
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic (from about 1 clove)
Burger buns, potato rolls preferable
Mayonnaise, for topping (optional)
Sriracha or other similar hot sauce, for topping (optional)
Instructions
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To prepare the carrots: In a medium-size bowl, whisk together all the ingredients, except the carrots, until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the carrots, mixing to coat well, and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes or as long as overnight. Drain the liquid before serving.
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To make the burgers: preheat a grill, grill pan, or broiler. Place all the ingredients in a medium-size bowl and, using your hands, a silicone spatula, or a wooden spoon, mix to combine well.
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Portion the burgers—you can divide the meat into four quarter-pound burgers or make the grown-up burgers slightly larger and the kid burgers slightly smaller—and cook over medium-high heat until cooked all the way through, 5 to 7 minutes per side, though the exact cooking time will vary depending on thickness. Serve on a roll with the quick-pickled carrots on top and mayonnaise mixed with sriracha to taste.
Republished from Make it Easy by Stacie Billis. Copyright © 2016. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Photo by Naomi McColloch.