Prawn and ginger burgers
It takes only a few minutes to make your own prawn burgers, which are juicy, sweet and reminiscent of prawn toast. If you don’t have gochujang, substitute with sriracha or sweet chilli sauce instead.
Ingredients
For the pickled cucumbers
- ½ cucumber, peeled and cut into 2–3mm thick discs
- 10g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
For the burgers
- 165g/5¾oz raw peeled king prawns
- 20g/¾oz fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp mayonnaise
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú sesame seeds
- 2 brioche burger buns, split
- handful iceberg or Little Gem lettuce, shredded
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the gochujang sauce
- 4 tsp mayonnaise
- ½ tsp gochujang
Method
To make the pickled cucumbers, combine the cucumber, ginger, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar in a bowl and set aside.
To make the burgers, place the prawns, ginger, soy sauce, garlic and mayonnaise in a small food processor. Blend to a smooth paste, scraping down the sides after 15–20 seconds. Briefly blend again.
Transfer the prawn mixture to a small plate and spread the sesame seeds out on a separate plate. Wet your hands with cold water and shape the prawn mixture into two equally-sized balls. Shape the balls into flat discs 2–3cm/¾–1¼in thick. Drop the discs into the sesame seeds and turn until covered. Don’t worry too much about the shape at this point as you can continue to shape the burgers in the pan. If not cooking immediately, cover with a bowl and chill in the fridge.
To make the gochujang sauce, combine the mayonnaise and gochujang in a small bowl and set aside.
Toast the cut sides of the burger buns until lightly browned (you can do this under a grill or in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat). Transfer to serving plates. Spread the bases of the buns with the gochujang sauce and dab some on the cut sides of the bun tops. Divide the lettuce between each base.
Heat a non-stick pan over a low–medium heat. Add the vegetable oil, then use a fish slice or turner to transfer the prawn patties to the pan. Cook for 1–1½ minutes on each side for a total of 5–5½ minutes, until the burgers are cooked through and the sesame seeds are lightly browned. Use the cooking utensil or the back of a spoon to reshape the patties during the first minute of cooking.
Place each patty on top of the lettuce, spoon over the pickled cucumbers and finish with the bun tops. Serve immediately.