Chinese Black Bean Shrimp Burgers

Pairs well with:

Gewurztraminer

Hard to pronounce yet easy to drink, this wine combines lychee fruit and white peach flavors with a hint of spice.

Hawaii is a melting pot of many different food cultures and Chinese cooking is one of the most popular.The typical Chinese restaurant experience of sharing multiple dishes lends itself to big family gatherings and one of our family’s favorite dishes is shrimp or other shellfish in Chinese black bean sauce. This recipe captures those local flavors in the form of a juicy shrimp and pork burger, a classic East meets West dish that is typical of local Hawaiian cuisine.

Ingredients:

Shrimp Burgers

1 ¼ lb. peeled, deveined shrimp
1 lb. ground pork
1 can (5 oz. drained) water chestnuts, minced
1 cup chopped green onions
2 clove minced garlic
2 t minced fresh ginger
3 T black bean garlic sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee brand)
4 t mirin (Japanese sweet cooking sake)
2 t sesame oil
2 T cornstarch
1 t black pepper

Non-stick spray

6 Kaiser rolls

Asian Slaw

2 cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed
1 clove garlic
1 t fresh ginger
2 t soy sauce
1 t mirin
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Asian hot chili sauce (schiracha)
3 cups shredded green and purple cabbage (or packaged cole slaw mix)
2 T toasted sesame seeds

Instructions:

Pulse shrimp in food processor (work in small batches, about 5 pulses each) or chop with two knives to form a chunky paste. Combine shrimp paste with pork, water chestnuts, green onions, garlic, ginger, black bean sauce, mirin, sesame oil, cornstarch and black pepper. Mix well and form into 6 equal sized patties.

Preheat gas grill on high for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, spray grill surface with non-stick spray and grill burgers until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Let burgers rest for at least 5 minutes.

Split Kaiser rolls and lightly grill cut surfaces.

Combine cilantro, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and mirin in food processor or blender and pulse to form paste. Mix in mayonnaise and schiracha to create slaw dressing. Toss cabbage with sesame seeds and ½ cup of dressing.

Put ½ cup of slaw on bottom half of roll, place shrimp patty on slaw and top with extra slaw dressing and other half of roll.