My family loves a good burger meal. We don’t often have them but when we want burgers, I make them at home. Burgers with the works. We like the idea of assembling the burgers, anything goes sometimes, depending on how simple or how gourmet you want yours to be. This recipe is for an Asian-style one. Very distinct flavours of lemongrass, lime, coconut cream and a bit of chilli. Chilli is optional of course, if you do not like spicy foods. So, I will let you decide on how much chilli flakes you want to use or maybe not add chilli at all. Coconut with crunchy peanut butter sauce makes these burgers quite authentic Asian. Serve them with deep fried sweet potato crisps. Yes, deep-fried. You can bake them of course if you want a healthier option but I’m sticking to this method of deep-frying thin strips of sweet potatoes. Trust me, you will want them deep-fried. I had to stop myself from eating the crisps every time I scoop them out of the pan. Otherwise, there will be only burgers to serve!

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon peanut oil
• 20g lemongrass paste
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
• 140ml coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
• 500g chicken mince
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped coriander
• 1 egg
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 medium cucumber
• 4 hamburger buns
• 1 medium sweet potato (kumera)
• canola or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• salt, to season fries

Method:

1. Preheat grill.
2. Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add lemongrass and onion, stirring until onion softens. Add five-spice, sauce, lime zest, coconut cream and chilli flakes (if using). Bring to a boil. Boil sauce mixture, uncovered, until reduced to half. Remove pan from heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Combine half of the sauce with peanut butter in a small bowl. Set aside. Combine the remaining sauce with bread crumbs, mince, egg and coriander. Using your hands, form mixture into four patties.
4. Using vegetable peeler, slice carrot, cucumber and sweet potato into thin strips.
5. Cook patties on lightly oiled large frying pan, about 15 minutes, turning frequently, or until cooked through.
6. In a medium heavy-based saucepan, on high heat, deep-fry sweet potato strips until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain in paper towel. Season with salt.
7. Halve buns , with cut sides up, toast under the grill. Spread peanut butter mixture on bun tops. Sandwich patty, carrots and cucumbers between bun halves.
8. Serve burger with potato crisps.