Tamarind Thai Burger

Tamarind Thai Burger: Kick-start the Summer Grilling Season

This recipe has been in my family since I was young. It originally started as beef patties served with rice for dinner, I used to take the leftovers for my school lunch. I made some modifications to the dish, turning the beef into a burger served with lettuce and tomatoes. This became a huge hit at school since burgers were mostly an American dish over 30 years ago. Many of my friends had never tasted a burger and soon they were requesting me to make the dish for them. I’m happy to share this recipe with you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients
Makes about 8 burgers

1 ½ lbs ground beef
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 eggs
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper or black pepper
7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Canola oil for brushing
8 Burger buns

For serving
Green leaf lettuce or iceberg lettuce
Tomato slices
Your choice of Worcestershire sauce, A1 steak sauce, ketchup or Thai Siracha hot sauce
Butter

Preparation
Mix ground beef, garlic, salt, soy sauce, corn starch and eggs together until well blended. Add chopped cilantro and mix well, next form the mixture into 4-inch patties, about ¾ inch thick. If preparing meat hours in advance, leave the patties in the refrigerator.

Light a grill. Brush the burger sparingly with oil and grill over moderate direct heat, turning a few times until cooked through. At the same time grill the buns until slightly crusty at the edges. Spread butter over the bun, top the burgers with lettuce, tomato slices and your choice of sauce and Voila !!!