A couple of days ago, I went to my favourite Asian shop in Ghent, called “Thai Center”. A friendly owner and a lot of Asian products, a perfect combination if you ask me. I always arrive there with a grocery list with three things and I leave the blue coloured building with at least five things. After my last visit I arrived home with Green Sesame Seeds.
I didn’t have a clue what I could do with it. Mr. Google told me at least ten things with tuna. Making something with tuna was impossible. Why? First, I didn’t have tuna in my fridge. Secondly and the most important reason, I don’t eat tuna. I know that saying is one thing, doing is another. But I really try to avoid a dish with fresh tuna. If you ask me why, just have a look at some movies or watch The Cave, a documentary about Japanese fishermen and poor dolphins. I know I also eat frog legs and the cultivation of frog legs is not always clean. But who is without sin, cast the first stone. Enough of “save the planet”-talking. I still didn’t have a recipe. I kept on asking advice to Mr. Google and I found a couple of recipes I could mix together. And so I made a Japanese chicken burger, Emperor Akihito would love.
Chicken burger “Japanese style” or probably the first McAkihito
What do you need? (6 burgers) Burger: 400 grams of chicken meat, 1 egg, 4tblsp of bread crumbs, green/black/white sesame seeds, 1tsp sugar, 1tsp rice vinegar, 1tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp ginger syrup – oil
Extra decoration: mint, coriander, slices of zucchini, bread
Wasabi dressing: 1 egg yolk, oil, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp mustard, ginger syrup, lemon juice, wasabi powder, rice vinegar
What do you do?
Collect your “burger ingredients”. Chop your chicken, I used an electric chopper. Mix the chopped chicken with the ingredients. Don’t use all the seeds. Make little burgers of your chicken mix. Put aside.
Toast your bread and in the meanwhile make a dressing. Start with a mayonnaise. Take one egg yolk and add a couple of oil drops. Mix it together using a whisk. After a while add a little bit more oil and a tsp of mustard and a tsp of vinegar. Continue adding oil bit by bit until the mayonnaise has reached the proper consistency. Finish with a bit of lemon juice, pepper and salt. Don’t forget to taste. You can keep your mayonnaise in the fridge for a couple of days.
Take 70 grams of mayonnaise and add ginger syrup, rice vinegar and lemon juice. Start with a tsp of each ingredient and add more compare to which taste you like. Take another 70 grams and add wasabi. Be careful, because wasabi has a strong taste.
Take a pan and add some oil. When the oil is hot, add the burgers. Fry one side, turn it and add some sesame seeds. Be sure that the meat is hot, otherwise they wouldn’t stick. When your chicken is ready, make a burger and enjoy.
