Recipe: Crispy shrimp burgers

I had shrimp burger for the first time at a Japanese restaurant famous for rice burgers and promptly named it the ‘Queen of Burgers’. The crunch of the shrimp and veggies all packed in a burger patty was an entirely new experience for my palate. Recreating the shrimp burgers had been on my to-do list for a while. Last weekend, I finally got a chance to try out a recipe. Using just the basic spices available in my kitchen, I was able to make a great burger. If you are a shrimp fan, make sure you give this a try.

Ingredients

Shrimps shelled, de-veined and chopped 30-35

Green onion stalk, chopped 1

Onion chopped ½ small

Oregano ½ tsp

Thyme ½ tsp

Lemon zest (optional) ½ tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Ground black pepper 1 tsp

Breadcrumbs 1/2 cup

Egg white, beaten 1

Tomato, sliced 1

Lettuce leaves 4-5

For frying

Flour, seasoned with salt and pepper 1 cup

Egg beaten, seasoned with salt and pepper 1

Bread crumbs 1 cup

Oil 1/2 cup

For dressing

Cheese slices

Mayonnaise

Chili Ketchup

Method

Fry onions until they are transparent.

Add shrimps and cook till they turn white.

Now take the shrimps out in a bowl, add green onions, breadcrumbs and the spices. Add egg and mix well.

Divide the shrimp batter in 3-4 portions.

Take each portion and shape it into a patty.

Note: If you are not in a hurry, put patties in the fridge for about 30 minutes before frying.

Place flour, breadcrumbs and egg in three separate shallow plates.

Put some oil in a shallow pan and heat.

Coat each patty with flour first, dip it in the egg and then cover with breadcrumbs. Fry till golden brown.

Place patties aside on a non-stick pre-heated pan. Top each patty with a slice of cheese so the cheese melts on top.

Now take the burger buns and slice them from the centre.

On both sides of the bun, put one tbsp of mayonnaise and toast them. This helps in making the buns soft. You can also use milk on both sides.

For the sauce, mix mayonnaise and chili ketchup and put one tbsp on the bun.

Now place patty on the bun, layer it with lettuce leaves and tomatoes.

Serve with potato wedges

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Number of servings: 3-4

Madiha Hamid is a digital media professional. She runs a food blog for Pakistani and regional cuisines called cheflingtales.com. Follow her on Twitter @cheflingtales

Published in The Express Tribune, Ms T, January 13^th, 2013.

Like MsT on Facebook for your dose of girl talk.