Beat the Burger Blues

I think we've hit the point in the summer where everyone is bored with burgers. The old beef on the grill (or in our case, the old turkey in the pan) just is not cutting it anymore. But you just can't walk away from the burger, it's practically the official food of summer! It's not labor intensive, you don't need to turn on your oven and it goes with so many delicious sides, coleslaw, potato salad, fresh corn, mmm, fresh corn.

I started itching for new burger ideas when I read about the Daily Chef's Caraway and Mustard Seed Mozzarella Stuffed Pork Burgers (how's that for a long string of things-you-want-to-eat before BURGER). Then Lady Gouda had me drooling for her greek burgers, made with lamb. I have to admit, I was a bit tetchy (seriously - word of the day) over missing out on so many delicious burgers because of our turkey-only status over here.

But Lady Gouda came to my rescue by mentioning the possibility of creating an asian burger. GENIUS I tell you, GENIUS. Using her ideas, I threw together a turkey burger that I will not groan at the sight of. Imagine the juicy delectable flavors of a dumpling with a bun instead of a wrapper.

ASIAN BURGERS
especially tasty with sesame noodles

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb turkey (if you were going to use another meat, I'd go with pork rather than beef)
1 T minced ginger
1 T minced garlic
2 scallions chopped
two dried thai chilis, cracked to let the seeds out (feel free to try a bit of sambal, I didn't have any)
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t fish sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
smidge peanut or other cooking oil
pepper
FOR THE LOVE OF PETE DO NOT ADD SALT

optional - hoisin to top

DIRECTIONS:
Pour a small amount of oil in a pan. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions and the chilis. Cook for only about a minute or two, enough to take the bite out of the garlic and soften the ginger a bit. Remove the red chilis (but allow the seeds to remain). Allow to cool enough to handle. In a medium bowl, mix together the turkey, the garlic, scallions, ginger, soy, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper. When thoroughly combined, form into 4 patties. For turkey in a pan I cook each 4-6 minutes per side, you don't want to dry them out, but you simply can't have undercooked turkey, so watch them. Place on a bun and add a bit of hoisin in place of ketchup.