Thai cuisine is one of my favorites to eat and cook. In the May 2009 issue of The Chile Pepper magazine I found the recipe for Thai Red Curry Burgers. It was courtesy of Dave Stuart & Britt Hilander. So I was excited.
After reading what the originators did there was one big thing I thought won’t work easily. That was mixing the Red Curry Paste into the meat. If you’ve ever used the Thai Red Curry Paste like you can buy , then you know it’s VERY thick and won’t be easy to mix in , much less mix it in evenly without over working the meat and making the patties tough. Like over working a meat loaf.
When I use those types of curry pastes I always use coconut creme to start cooking and thinning out the curry paste. So I knew that was the first thing I wanted to do and the coconut creme would also make it more like Thai curries. So why stop there was my thought . I wanted to add all the things I like and use when cooking Thai food.
So ....... Off I went . Lemon Grass , Kaffir Lime leaves , Nuts ... Peanuts would work but I like Cashews . Thai people like lots of herbs. This had cilantro and Thai Basil in it , but I thought Mint would be great too.
So here's the recipe and what I did.
For the burgers: Makes four
1 Pound lean ground beef
1/2 Red onion , minced
1 Tablespoon cilantro , minced
1 bird’s eye Thai chili seeded and minced .... these are hot
2 Tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste
1 Tablespoon Fish sauce
What I added ..
1 Stalk Lemon grass , minced very fine
2 Tablespoons mint , minced
2 Tablespoons coconut creme
2 cloves garlic , minced
1 or 2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts. Peanuts or cashews
2 Kaffar lime leaves , slivered and chopped
1 Habanero type pepper , minced fine
That makes the paste you mix into your ground beef.
Heat the coconut creme and add the paste. Work the paste into the creme until it
gets smooth. Add the lemon grass , minced red onion , nuts and lime leaves. Cook
until you get a nice aroma. Not very long. Let this mixture cool. Then mix it with the
beef and the other items. Don’t over work the mixture. Make the patties and put
them in the refrigerator so they firm up good.
Now mix up your dressing using the mayonnaise , ginger, and lime juice. You can
chop the cilantro , mint , and basil and mix it in the dressing if you wish. Or use them
like lettuce to top off the patties along with the very thin slices of red onion.
Mayo dressing :
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons lime juice
4 Rolls or buns
Slivered Thai Basil leaves
Cilantro
Mint
Thin sliced red onion.
When you build your burgers use lots of the Mayo , add a then slice of red onion , and lots of Thai Basil , Cilantro , and Mint like you might use lettuce on another type of burger.
Thai Red Curry , Lemon Grass , Lime Leaves
Coconut Creme and Red Curry paste
What my mixture looks like
So that's mixed into your ground beef and get patties that look like this .
I have a few more pictures to post on this .
Peace ,
P. Dreadie
After reading what the originators did there was one big thing I thought won’t work easily. That was mixing the Red Curry Paste into the meat. If you’ve ever used the Thai Red Curry Paste like you can buy , then you know it’s VERY thick and won’t be easy to mix in , much less mix it in evenly without over working the meat and making the patties tough. Like over working a meat loaf.
When I use those types of curry pastes I always use coconut creme to start cooking and thinning out the curry paste. So I knew that was the first thing I wanted to do and the coconut creme would also make it more like Thai curries. So why stop there was my thought . I wanted to add all the things I like and use when cooking Thai food.
So ....... Off I went . Lemon Grass , Kaffir Lime leaves , Nuts ... Peanuts would work but I like Cashews . Thai people like lots of herbs. This had cilantro and Thai Basil in it , but I thought Mint would be great too.
So here's the recipe and what I did.
For the burgers: Makes four
1 Pound lean ground beef
1/2 Red onion , minced
1 Tablespoon cilantro , minced
1 bird’s eye Thai chili seeded and minced .... these are hot
2 Tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste
1 Tablespoon Fish sauce
What I added ..
1 Stalk Lemon grass , minced very fine
2 Tablespoons mint , minced
2 Tablespoons coconut creme
2 cloves garlic , minced
1 or 2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts. Peanuts or cashews
2 Kaffar lime leaves , slivered and chopped
1 Habanero type pepper , minced fine
That makes the paste you mix into your ground beef.
Heat the coconut creme and add the paste. Work the paste into the creme until it
gets smooth. Add the lemon grass , minced red onion , nuts and lime leaves. Cook
until you get a nice aroma. Not very long. Let this mixture cool. Then mix it with the
beef and the other items. Don’t over work the mixture. Make the patties and put
them in the refrigerator so they firm up good.
Now mix up your dressing using the mayonnaise , ginger, and lime juice. You can
chop the cilantro , mint , and basil and mix it in the dressing if you wish. Or use them
like lettuce to top off the patties along with the very thin slices of red onion.
Mayo dressing :
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons lime juice
4 Rolls or buns
Slivered Thai Basil leaves
Cilantro
Mint
Thin sliced red onion.
When you build your burgers use lots of the Mayo , add a then slice of red onion , and lots of Thai Basil , Cilantro , and Mint like you might use lettuce on another type of burger.
Thai Red Curry , Lemon Grass , Lime Leaves
Coconut Creme and Red Curry paste
What my mixture looks like
So that's mixed into your ground beef and get patties that look like this .
I have a few more pictures to post on this .
Peace ,
P. Dreadie
