Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

plum-crazy black sesame seed burgers

Recipe by
Suzanne Banfield
Basking Ridge, NJ

Beautiful to look at and bursting with flavor, this burger fires up all of your taste buds. Please don’t shy away from the long list of ingredients – many of them are seasonings that just require measuring out. They are what give the burger such deep layers of flavor. The quick-pickled vegetables and the spicy mayonnaise are needed to balance out the richness of the burger.

yield 8 serving(s)
prep time 30 Min
cook time 20 Min
method Grill

Ingredients For plum-crazy black sesame seed burgers

  • 3 Tbsp
    sugar
  • 2 tsp
    salt, divided use, plus more as needed
  • 1/2 c
    rice wine vinegar
  • 1 md
    seedless cucumber, spiralized or thinly sliced
  • 2 md
    carrots, spiralized or cut into thin matchsticks
  • 1 c
    mayonnaise
  • 6 tsp
    sriracha, divided use
  • 1 tsp
    lime zest
  • 2 tsp
    lime juice
  • 7 md
    garlic cloves, minced, divided use
  • 6 md
    scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp
    soy sauce
  • 4 Tbsp
    chinese plum sauce, divided use
  • 1 Tbsp
    sesame oil
  • 1 tsp
    fish sauce
  • 2 tsp
    grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp
    chinese 5 spice powder
  • 1 lb
    ground chicken
  • 1 lb
    ground pork
  • 1 c
    cooked white rice
  • 3 Tbsp
    black sesame seeds
  • 8
    soft sesame seed buns, split
  • 3 Tbsp
    melted butter
  • 1
    bunch thai basil or mint

How To Make plum-crazy black sesame seed burgers

  • 1
    In small bowl, dissolve sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in vinegar. Toss cucumber and carrots in the dressing. Cover and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. For spicy mayonnaise, whisk together mayonnaise, 3 teaspoons sriracha, lime zest, lime juice and 2 cloves of garlic. Taste and season with a pinch of salt if needed. Cover and refrigerate.
  • 2
    Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat. In large bowl, stir together remaining 5 cloves of garlic, scallions, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons plum sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, ginger, remaining 3 teaspoons sriracha, 5 spice powder and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Add the ground chicken, ground pork, rice and black sesame seeds. Mix well to combine all of the ingredients. Shape mixture into 8 patties.
  • 3
    Place the patties on the grill, cook for a total of about 6-7 minutes per side or until they reach an internal temperature of 170 degrees F. At the last minute of cooking each side, brush with remaining 2 tablespoons plum sauce and expose to heat. Lightly brush the insides of the buns with butter and place them on the outer edges of the grill to toast for 30-60 seconds.
  • 4
    To assemble the burgers, spread the bottom of each bun with spicy mayonnaise and arrange a few leaves of Thai basil or mint over it. Top with a burger, some pickled vegetables, a dollop of spicy mayonnaise and the top of the bun.
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