Photo by Tom McCorkle and food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post
These plump, flavor-packed burgers show off one of shrimp’s lesser-known assets: When ground, it becomes sticky and easily forms into a patty shape without any egg or bread crumbs, as needed for other fish cakes.
Seasoned with aromatic ginger, scallion, kimchi (any variety will work), and a generous handful of fresh cilantro, the shrimp burgers deliver a big flavor punch with few ingredients.
Serve them on buns or lettuce leaves with slices of crisp cucumber, buttery avocado and a squirt of ketchup and/or hot sauce.
Shrimp Burgers With Kimchi
Ingredients
Place about half the shrimp, the ginger and the scallions in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the ginger and scallion are finely chopped and the shrimp has become a smooth paste. (You will need to scrape the bowl down with a spatula a few times to get everything evenly incorporated.) Add the remaining shrimp, the cilantro and kimchi and pulse a few times so the shrimp is chopped but still quite chunky. Wet your hands and shape the mixture into four patties, rewetting your hands as necessary; refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Brush both sides of each patty with oil and cook until a deep brown crust has formed outside the burger and the inside is cooked through, about 7 minutes per side.
Serve in burger buns or lettuce wraps with sliced avocado, cucumber, ketchup and/or Sriracha, if desired.
Makes 4 Servings
Per serving: Calories 171; Total Fat 5g; (Sat Fat 0g); Protein 30g; Carb 2g; Fiber 1g; Cholesterol 213mg; Sodium 255mg; Total Sugar 0g
