Shrimp Burger- Queen of Burgers

December 24, 2012

My dad and I would always order Prawns/Shrimps as appetizers when dining out. My mom on the other hand was not fond of prawns; sitting across the table she would constantly be making weird faces, wondering how we are eating these ugly looking piece of meat with a tail still intact! Well, we always ignored her and always ordered prawns, smiling at her now and then while enjoying every bite! For the same reason prawns were never cooked at our home! One type of meat, I wasn’t familiar cooking till we moved to Bangkok.

Shrimp Burger

I remember the first time I wanted to make Pad Thai (Rice noodles with prawns). I went to the super mart near our building to buy prawns. I looked at the half alive , half dead prawns- not looking quarter as pretty as I have seen them served on a restaurant table! I came back without buying any. I thought I would never have prawns again. Living in Bangkok that wasn’t really an option and I had to get over the disturbing picture in my mind.

I asked Erika, my Japanese friend, to go with me and pick some prawns so I can cook my most favorite Thai dish for dinner (yes this is how much I liked Pad Thai). We went to the store next morning. I didn’t pick the prawns myself. I just stood their making weird faces as Erika picked the best prawns out of the lot. I vainly asked Erika, if the people at the store will clean them for me. A request unheard of! The shopkeeper politely refused to do so.

Erika, after seeing my half scared, half disgusted face, volunteered to show me how to clean prawns. We went to her apartment and in less than 10 minutes she de-shelled, deveined and washed beautiful 20 odd prawns. Seeing my surprised and amazed expressions Erika told me that cleaning prawns comes naturally to Japanese women-as seafood is their most favorite!

For the love of eating and cooking prawns, I have learnt to perfectly clean them. Its surely a pain..always. But now I have issues eating prawns outside home- always checking if they are properly deveined and cleaned! It’s amazing how human mind works.(I will also write on how to clean the prawns for everyone’s sake. )

I made Shrimp burgers. I wanted a recipe that will recreate the Shrimp Burgers served in MOS burger- A famous Japanese burger chain. I recreated this burger using regular spices available in the kitchen. Hope you love the crunch of shrimps wrapped in a burger like we did!

Recipe: Shrimp Burgers

Ingredients

30-35 Shrimps (de-shelled, de-veined and chopped)
One green onion stalk chopped finely
½ small onion chopped
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp lemon zest (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp grounded black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg white beaten

For frying

1 egg beaten (seasoned)
1 cup flour (seasoned)
1 cup bread crumbs- Add 2 tbsp corn flakes to add the crunch (seasoned)
1/2 cup oil

For dressing

4 Buns – toasted
1 tomato- Sliced
4-5 lettuce leaves
Cheese slices
Mayonnaise
Chili Ketchup
Mustard (if you like)

Instructions

Take onions and fry them till transparent.
Add shrimps and cook till the shrimp turns just white.
Now take the shrimps out in a bowl, add green onions, breadcrumbs and all spices. Add egg and then mix well.
Divide the Shrimp material in 3-4 portions.
Take each portion and shape it into a patty.
Note: You can put these patties in fridge for about 30 minutes before frying if you are not in a hurry! It will help in frying.
In three separate shallow plates take flour, breadcrumbs and egg.
Take a shallow pan with oil and put it on heat till warm.
Coat each patty with flour first, then dip it in egg and followed by crumbs.
Fry till golden brown.
Place patties aside on a non-stick pre-heated pan. Top each patty with slice of cheese so the cheese melts on top.
Now take buns- slice them from center.
On both sides of buns put 1 tsp Mayonnaise and toast them. This helps in making the buns soft. You can also use milk on both sides.
Mix Mayonnaise and Chili Ketchup- to make a quick sauce. Put one tablespoon of this sauce on bun.
Place patty on the bun; layer it with lettuce leaves and tomatoes.
Serve it with Potato Wedges