A Well-Traveled Burger

Have I mentioned that I live in a house full of men?  Luckily for me, they love to eat almost anything but especially…… meat.  For them, particularly my two sons, a meal is defined as a couple of side dishes that revolve around a large piece of meat.  I’ve found, over the years, that burgers are an easy, versatile way to satisfy the Kenney carnivores.

I’m excited to start our February travels with this recipe for Vietnamese Pork Burgers with Splendid Sauce. I usually pair them with my Savory Rice with Ginger and Cilantro (click here for the recipe or find it on the recipe index).  These pork burgers are truly unique and delicious.  They have been a hit with family and friends here in Minnesota and from New York to California.

Making these burgers gives me, yet another, reason to visit my favorite Asian markets. My go-to markets in the Twin Cities are Shuang Hur market on University Avenue in St. Paul and United Noodles market on E. 24th Street in Minneapolis.  Both have fantastic prices and a wide selection of produce, dry goods, fish and all the basics for Asian cooking.

Two ingredients that I highly recommend for every kitchen are unseasoned rice vinegar and fish sauce.  Rice vinegar is fantastic in many Asian foods, but also as a base for easy, delicious vinaigrettes.  Fish sauce is an acquired taste.  As you can imagine, it has a strong odor but you’ll find that a small amount adds incredible flavor and richness to the finished dish.  There are many great brands found at Asian markets and large grocery stores – my favorites are Red Boat Fish Sauce and Marukan Rice Vinegar.  Both are high quality, flavorful and gluten free – three important factors here in KilKenney Kitchen.

If you enjoy cooking and eating a variety of foods, seek out an Asian market in your city and plan a field trip.  I always find it fun and interesting.  You may come home, as I did the first couple of times, with an ingredient or two you don’t know what to do with.  Feel free to share those finds here and we’ll figure out something delicious to make.  Many large grocery stores have extensive Asian foods aisles that stock many of these products as well.  No worries if you aren’t able to find all of the ingredients.  As always, I offer substitutions in the recipes that create slightly different flavors but still result in delicious dishes.

I invite you to make these Vietnamese Pork Burgers, I think you’ll find the flavors compelling and if it’s anything like my house, all the men, women and children at your table will be clamoring for more.

Vietnamese Pork Burgers with Splendid Sauce

These are truly the definition of a better burger. Big rich flavors meld beautifully with the bright, tangy sauce. They work well on a lettuce wrap or with your favorite bun. Take a trip to your local Asian market or the Asian food aisle at your favorite grocery store and see how much fun these ingredients can be. Adapted from an Epicurious recipe

Servings 6 people

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

Vietnamese Pork Burgers

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 stalk lemongrass or the zest of one lime
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 pounds ground pork
• 2 tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce

Splendid Sauce

• 4 tbsp rice vinegar unseasoned, or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

Make the burgers

• Press the garlic or mince it really fine
  
• Grate the ginger or mince it really fine. I often peel a big knob of ginger and store it in the freezer. It grates beautifully with a Microplane
  
• Chop the scallions - all the white and the first part of the green
  
• Wash the lemongrass. This is a wonderful ingredient. It can be found at Asian markets and sometimes at large grocery stores. It's inexpensive and smells amazing (if you are using lime zest instead, skip to step 8)
  
• Peel the outer layer off of the lemongrass and smack it with the back of a knife to reveal the softer inner layers.
  
• Chop the innermost layers of the lemongrass into small pieces. You will love how it smells
  
• Place the ground pork in a large bowl and add the chopped lemongrass (or lime zest), scallions, ginger, garlic, fish sauce (or soy sauce), salt and pepper
  
• Gently mix the ingredients into the pork and form into 6 burgers
  
• Heat the grill (or grill pan or broiler) and cook the pork burgers until internal temperature measures 145 degrees and they are cooked through - 6-8 minutes per side depending on thickness. Let the burgers rest for 5-10 minutes
  

Make the splendid sauce

• Mix the rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, water and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
  
• Serve the burgers on lettuce or your favorite bun with the splendid sauce and dip away! We love to eat these with my Savory Rice with Ginger and Cilantro - recipe also on the blog
  

Notes

For this recipe and many great recipes to come, I highly recommend purchasing both fish sauce and unseasoned rice vinegar.  Both ingredients are easily found at Asian markets or large grocery stores. There are many good brands, these two are my favorites. Both are high quality and gluten free.  You can substitute white wine vinegar and soy sauce.  The flavors won't be as rich, but it will still taste great

Cuisine: Vietnamese