It is common knowledge that burgers from fast food joints are unhealthy because they contain ground up fats and skin, as well as mysterious fillers, additives and preservatives, among other things. Since the burger patties are made from ground up meat, it is a bit hard to determine what goes into it, right? This suspicion also extends to the mass-produced burger patties sold in the frozen foods section of supermarkets and hypermarkets.
However, a burger patty is simply a disc-shaped slab of meat, made from chicken, beef, lamb, etc. It can also be made entirely of mashed or chopped up non-meat ingredients, such as sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and peas, the outcome of which is a tasty vegetarian-friendly burger patty.
The challenge in this present day and age is to make food healthier for yourself and your loved ones. When we read health-related articles online, the keywords that keep appearing are ‘healthy’, ‘trans-fat free’, ‘low sodium’, ‘less fat’, ‘less oil’, ‘balanced diet’, ‘fruits’, ‘vegetables’, ‘organic’, etc.
Healthy Burger Patty
A burger patty can actually be healthy if we make it ourselves, because we can control what goes into it. No mystery to be solved. No processed food. No weird additives. No stabilisers. No unhealthy fat levels.
I made burger patties from chopped up lean chicken breasts and a whole carrot today, as well as green spring onions and stalks of flat-leafed coriander. Best of all, they were tender, juicy and flavourful. The fragrant flavour comes primarily from the finely chopped lemongrass, one of my favourite oriental condiments. I love lemongrass! 🙂
Cooling on kitchen towels to help soak up excess oil
Chicken & Carrot Burger Patty
Makes 10-12 patties, depending on size and thickness
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
1 & a half chicken breasts (minced or chopped)
1 large carrot (grated)
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 stalks lemongrass (finely chopped)
1 red chilli (seeds removed; finely chopped)
A few stalks of spring onions (chopped)
A few stalks of coriander (also known as cilantro) (chopped)
A large egg
A tablespoon of corn flour
A tablespoon of tomato sauce
A tablespoon of vegetable oil (such as olive oil; optional)
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for pan-frying
Raw ingredients for Chicken & Carrot Burger Patty. Clockwise from top: A whole grated carrot, Chopped onion, finely chopped lemongrass, finely chopped red chilli (seeds removed), chopped fresh coriander leaves, chopped spring onions, 1 & a half chicken breasts (minced or chopped) seasoned with corn flour, black pepper, salt, and lastly, an egg.
Method:
- Mix all of the ingredients together. They should form a paste that can stick together to make individual patties that will not break apart when you put them into the frying pan. If the ingredients can’t stick together to form a ball or patty because the mixture is too dry, you can add a small egg, or a bit of water and some corn flour.
- Heat up some vegetable oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, form burger patties with the palms of your hands and put them into the pan. I just use my hands, but if you find that hard, you can form the patties on a flat spatula and push them onto the pan with a spoon, or another spatula. Do whatever works for you.
- Fry the patties on one side until browned. Then, flip them over with a spatula to cook the other side. At this point, covering the pan (if the pan comes with a cover) might hasten the cooking process.
- When you have determined that the patty is cooked through, scoop it out onto a kitchen towel-lined plate to cool. The kitchen towel will absorb the excess oil.
- Serve the patties with burger buns, tortilla wraps, sandwich bread, or even sliced and stuffed in pita bread pockets. They can also be eaten as is.
Bon appetit! 🙂
Freshly pan-fried chicken & carrot burger patty
Cross-section of chicken & carrot burger patty, featured here on top of a tortilla wrap.
Chicken & carrot burger patty sliced in half and wrapped in a tortilla wrap
Hui Min's Kitchen 