Asian Chicken Burger

This chicken burger recipe from Hamlyn's 200 one pot meals does not call for any bread bun - perfect for PJ's diet! The patties turned out quite delicately flavoured, almost under flavoured, so I've upped the amount of herbs in my adapted recipe below.   

By the way, the preparation time given in the book was 20 minutes. But I reckoned it took me at least one hour! If all the ingredients were already washed, pre chopped, trimmed of fats etc., then yes, maybe you could do it in under 20 minutes (or if you are Jamie Oliver). Which brings me to my point - I can't advise on the preparation time for each recipe, because it really depends on the quality of your produce (e.g., I have to rinse every leaf under filtered water in Mumbai) and your own speed and skills in the kitchen. Preparation times given in cook books are often gross estimates; so, good luck if you're blindly following them! :)  

Serves: 2 hungry people (yields 4 generous patties)

Cooking time: 25 minutes

ingredients

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lemon grass stalk, roughly chopped

2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

Large handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

2 red chilli, deseeded
1 tsp salt 

500g boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cut into large chunks

2 tbsp oil

1 bunch spring onions, sliced into 1-inch pieces 

200g pak choy, roughly shredded 

1 tbsp fish sauce

50g toasted cashew nuts, roughly chopped

method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. 

Blend the garlic, lemon grass, ginger, coriander, chilli and salt in a food processor to make a thick paste. Add the chicken and blend until well mixed. Tip out on to the work surface and divide the mixture into 4 portions. Roll each into a ball and flatten into a burger shape. 

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the burgers on both sides to sear (around 30 secs each side). Transfer the burgers onto a baking sheet or roasting pan and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes until the burgers are cooked through. 

Meanwhile, reheat the frying pan and stir fry the spring onions and pak choy for 1 minute. Add fish sauce towards the end and quickly stir through. 

Transfer cooked  burgers and vegetables to serving plates and scatter toasted cashew nuts over the greens. 

notes
For lamb burgers, use lean minced lamb instead of the chicken. Cooking time will remain the same.