Vietnamese-Style Bahn Mi Burger
Posted in: Main Dishes, Grilling Tagged: SummerGrillingRecipeContest, bahn mi, Vietnamese-style, pickle, cilantro, chili paste, Asian, mayo, Beef, pork, grill, burger
This Vietnamese-style bahn mi burger recipe was a lark. I usually ask my kids what they want for dinner and they usually reply with the ever helpful “I dunno.”
Is there punctuation for apathy? Anyway, I wanted bahn mi sandwiches, but as it turned out, they both answered hamburgers. So here we are, Bahn mi burgers. I have been making Bahn Mi for years with both grilled pork and grilled tofu. Both are made with the same marinade. The sandwich is basically meat on a roll with cilantro, pickle and jalapeno as toppings, but with the burgers, the marinade is mixed into the burger. These twist on a Bahn mi sandwich worked out well and were a great compliment to the tater tots that went with them.
Ingredients
- For the pickles,
- 1 carrot sliced into thin matchsticks
- 5 radishes sliced thin (if you can find daikon, ½ cup of thin sticks)
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
- For the burger,
- 16 ounces ground pork
- 8 ounces ground beef
- 1/4 cup finely diced shallots or red onions
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon chili paste (sirracha or other)
- 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon minced lemon grass (optional)
- 6 French bread rolls
- For the burger glaze,
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 2 Tablespoons hoisin
- For the burger toppings,
- 12 – 16 cilantro stems and leaves whole
- 1 jalapeño sliced thin
- Mayo + 1 teaspoon of chili paste, mixed
Instructions
- Prepare the pickled vegetables. Place the carrots and radish in a lidded bowl and cover with the salt and sugar. Pour the vinegar over the top and mix. Mix a few times over the cooking period. Set aside.
- Next, prepare the burger mix. Take all the ingredients, except for the french rolls, and mix together. Shape into oval-shaped burgers. Chill for 1/2 hour in the freezer or two hours in the refrigerator.
- Prepare the glaze. Mix the sherry and hoisin in a small bowl and set aside. Have a basting brush ready by the grill.
- Heat the grill up to about 400 degrees. Slice the rolls in half and lightly toast the rolls and set aside. Coat the grill with oil. Grill the burgers, 4 minutes each side.Flip the burger and baste with the glaze. Cook another 4 minutes. Flip and baste with the glaze again and cook one more minute. Flip and cook another minute just to set the glaze. Once cooked through, set aside and rest.
- Assemble the burgers. Coat the top and bottom of the bread rolls with the mayo-chili paste mix. Place the burger on top. Place 4 or 5 slices of jalapeño on top, followed by several springs of cilantro and a tablespoon or so of the pickled vegetables. Serve right away.
Notes
Pickled vegetables can be made a day before. Just remember to store in refrigerator overnight.
Allow some extra time when making these to let the burger rest. The burger will be a bit “wet” so letting them set up in the freezer or fridge will really help if you are grilling them. Otherwise put them in a pan or griddle.
For the rolls, the Vietnamese probably make the best French bread outside of France, San Francisco and NYC. If you have a Vietnamese grocery nearby, you can probably get the crispy rice flour laden rolls (I envy you!). I generally use bolilo rolls that I heat in an oven until the outside crisps up. What you want is something light and crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. Not too chewy; this is what the rice flour does. Cheap soft French rolls from the grocery work as well.
On the cilantro, you can use the stems AND the leaves. The stems taste great and add texture to the burger or anywhere else that you use cilantro.
Allow some extra time when making these to let the burger rest. The burger will be a bit “wet” so letting them set up in the freezer or fridge will really help if you are grilling them. Otherwise put them in a pan or griddle.
For the rolls, the Vietnamese probably make the best French bread outside of France, San Francisco and NYC. If you have a Vietnamese grocery nearby, you can probably get the crispy rice flour laden rolls (I envy you!). I generally use bolilo rolls that I heat in an oven until the outside crisps up. What you want is something light and crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. Not too chewy; this is what the rice flour does. Cheap soft French rolls from the grocery work as well.
On the cilantro, you can use the stems AND the leaves. The stems taste great and add texture to the burger or anywhere else that you use cilantro.
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