After subsisting on poutine and foie gras for a weekend, I felt in dire need of some good ole Amur’cun food… Except I also wanted to enter it into the Build The Best Burger Recipe Contest hosted by Marx Foods, which meant I couldn’t just do my favourite classic burger with a huge juicy beef patty, plasticine slice of American cheese, lettuce, red onion, tomato and a dollop of ketchup on a Wonder Bread bun.
Instead I came up with this highfalutin Asian burger loaded with garlic, ginger cilantro and hoisin sauce with mizuna, tomato, lime pickled red onions and Thai chili sauce all snuggled between a toasted brioche roll with melted gruyere. Not quite what I originally had in mind, but it was tasty none-the-less. The Asian spices combined with the sweet hoisin sauce go well with the nutty gruyere, the pickles added some southeast Asian zing and the sweet Thai chili sauce makes the perfect substitute for ketchup.
I served it with my rendition of Syrie’s raw broccoli salad (from Taste Buddies), which for someone that’s ambivalent about broccoli was delicious. I subbed out the lemon juice for lime juice, the cumin for kaffir lime leaves and some of the salt for fish sauce then added a bit of honey for sweetness.
This makes enough for 4 smaller burgers (perfect for a brioche roll), or 2 large 1/2 lb burgers. It took me about 45 minutes from start to finish but your mileage may vary.
for the patty
1 lb of lean organic ground beef
1 green onion minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbs minced cilantro
1 tsp minced ginger
1 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
for the pickled onions
1/2 red onion sliced into thin rings
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbs water
juice from 1/2 a lime
for assembly
brioche rolls (or other slightly sweet soft rolls)
sliced gruyere cheese
sliced tomato
mizuna greens
sweet Thai chili sauce
Combine the ingredients for the patty with your hand; be careful not to over mix it. Form the patties and stick them on parchment paper until you’re ready to cook them.
For the pickles, just separate the onion into rings, cover with the salt and water and let it sit for about 15 minutes. When they’re starting to wilt give them a little “massage” to until they’re translucent. Sqeeze out any excess water and dump out the brine. Return the onions to the bowl and squeeze half a lime onto the onions.
Grill/fry/broil the paties to your desired level of done-ness and while the burgers are cooking, cut the rolls down the center and toss them in a toaster oven with a layer of gruyere on the bottom half of each bun.
To assemble, just spread a little Thai chili sauce on the top half of the toasted bun. Place a burger on the cheese half of each bun, top with pickled onions, tomato and mizuna then figure out how you’re gonna fit it all in your mouth:-)
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I always wondered how to spell highfalutin, now I know. This looks and sounds wonderful.
I’m a (moderate) burger fan and this sure looks like it should satisfy my hunger right now
Thanks for not putting wasabi on it. Ha ha ha. It’s sort of a burger fad here these days.
Out of curiosity, what did you originally have in mind?
I love the spicy-sweetness of hoisin sauce. Served with gruyere? Unusual. I like it!
Thanks so much for mentioning me. Love your take on the salad and will be trying it out soon. The burger is positively perfect!
Now, *THAT’S* a burger! I want to get my greedy little paws on this one.
These are great Marc…so much better than the usual kind…great flavours and combinations!
I have been looking through your posts and you have an incredible blog. Very beautiful pictures, exquisite recipes and well written posts.
Oh yum - I think I know what I’ll be grilling this weekend.
Hmm, not sure if I could make my mouth fit around that burger, but I’d be happy to try! Looks juicy & delicious.
HA HA! Wouldn’t be any problem fitting that burger in MY mouth!
Have you seen my photo? We Italians have big mouths because we LOVE to eat (and run our mouths . . . LOL)
But, babe, you really need to learn how to use spell check.
don’t lie–you had to crush that thing to get it into your mouth. yes? sometimes we must sacrifice appearance for taste.
Gorgeous burger and I love the twist with the pickled onions and minced ginger!
This burger look amazing!!!! is georgeous! xGloria
Those burgers sound tasty. I have been wanting to try using hoisin sauce more often/
Lovely burger - and nicely paired with the raw broccoli salad!
I’m sooo excited about this burger Mark! It just looks fabulous and it’s gonna be on our next grill menu. We’re always looking for new burger ideas and the thought of adding ginger is genius!
Wow, hoisin and gruyere? I dig it! It’s only 8 a.m. and I’m already hungry for this burger!