Oriental Pork Burger--A Little Rest from Beef Burgers!

I think most everyone loves a burger on the grill. But sometimes, by the middle of summer, we’re tired of the same old beef burger every time. I recently had a friend accompany me to an occasion where her support was most welcome. Afterwards, we came back to the house. I’d made the burgers and slaw earlier in the day and within a very short time the grill was hot and the burgers were on.

            I had picked up cole slaw mix, the kind with carrots already in it, but I wanted more carrots. I was going to grate them myself, but as I passed by the salad bar and saw the nifty long strands of carrot, I picked up a container of that instead. 

            I thought the slaw would be enough for a topping, but after tasting, we thought it still needed a little something, so I whipped up the sesame aioli. It was the perfect finishing touch.

            I served it with store-bought sweet potato chips, which went very well with the flavor of the burgers. If you are a bit more ambitious, roast cubes of sweet potato and toss them with a little more of the sesame aioli and chopped cilantro for sweet potato salad.

Spicy Oriental Pork Burgers

 1 ½ lb. ground pork

2 green onions, with some of the green, very thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. ginger paste from the produce section (or 1 ½ tbsp. grated fresh ginger)

2 tbsp. Thai sweet chili sauce

1 tsp. Oriental sesame oil

1 tbsp. soy sauce

6 Kaiser rolls (or other crusty buns)

Asian Slaw (recipe below)

Sesame Aioli (recipe below)

             In a bowl, combine all ingredients for the pork burgers. Form into six patties about 5” in diameter. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour so flavors meld, or until ready to cook. 

On a very hot gas or charcoal grill (or stove-top ridged grill pan) cook five to six minutes per side, until no longer pink in the center.  Place on the buns, top with the slaw and drizzle with the aioli.  Serves six.

Asian Slaw

1 bag cole slaw mix

1cup shredded carrot

1 minced green onion

3 tbsp. cilantro leaves, chopped

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

      

            In a bowl, combine the slaw mix, carrot, green onion and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and vinegar. Pour over the slaw and toss together.  Let set at room temperature for up to an hour, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

 Sesame Aioli

 ¾  cup mayonnaise

1 tsp oriental sesame oil

1 clove garlic, very finely minced

            Mix together, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Lemongrass Grilled Shrimp

Recently I was asked to do a private cooking class on grilling out. I came up with a full four-course menu of grillable recipes. I knew I wanted to use shrimp but I wanted it to be a little different from the usual lemon-garlic-olive oil marinade, as good as that might be.

I was wandering around the supermarket one afternoon and found something wonderful in the produce department. There were tubes of seasoning pastes in various flavors, but the one that appealed to me was the lemongrass.

I like the flavor of lemongrass, widely used in Thai, Vietnamese and other oriental cooking. It has a pungent lemon flavor that blends well with the other elements of those cuisines: garlic, cilantro and hot chiles. But it can be a little tough and fibrous if not prepared correctly. So when I saw the tube of lemongrass paste I grabbed it and went home to play.

This was served at the cooking class as an appetizer, but more recently I served it as a main course for a group of friends. I like to use the larger size shrimp (16-20 to a pound) for this so that it can be marinated a bit longer. Don’t let it set too long in the marinade, though, or it will get a little mushy from the acid in the vinegar.

If you’re using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them at least an hour in warm water so they don’t catch on fire if you are doing these on the grill.

I served it with Zatarain’s Caribbean Rice from the supermarket, which has pineapple in it. The slight sweetness was the perfect accompaniment to the shrimp. Add some fresh green beans, cooked until just crisp-tender and tossed in garlic butter, and you have a wonderful meal.

LEMONGRASS GRILLED SHRIMP

1-1/4 lbs large shrimp, raw, peeled, tail on
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 large pinch crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
2 teaspoons lemon grass paste
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
8 wooden skewers, soaked for an hour in warm water

Place the shrimp in a bowl. Mix remaining ingredients. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of the mixture and pour the rest over the shrimp. Marinate, chilled, for no more than an hour. Thread the shrimp on the skewers and grill for about two minutes per side. Drizzle with the reserved marinade and serve immediately. Serves 8 as an hors-d’oeuvre or 4 as a main course.

NOTE: This can also be done on a cast-iron griddle or heavy skillet on top of the stove, or under your oven broiler.