Ingredients
Shrimp patties
14oz fresh OR 1 lb frozen raw peeled shrimp (Note 1)
1 garlic , minced
1/4 cup green onion , finely sliced
1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Breading:
1 egg , lightly whisked with a fork
1/2 cup AP flour
1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup olive oil , or any neutral flavored oil (vegetable, canola etc)
Burgers:
4 brioche buns (4-5″ wide) or other soft white buns, lightly toasted
1 1/2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce or romaine
Gherkins or dill pickles, finely sliced
Bang Bang Sauce (recommended!), Tartar Sauce, spicy mayo, even ketchup
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
Blitz half the shrimp and garlic, mix with rest of patty ingredients. Roll into balls, dredge in flour, egg, then flatten into patty in panko, flip to coat. Fry 4 minutes until golden, assemble burgers.
FULL RECIPE
Thaw – If using frozen shrimp, thaw thoroughly and discard excess water (you lose ~20% in weight in water), then chop into 1/3″ pieces.
Blitz – Put half the shrimp and garlic in a jar large enough to fit the head of a stick blender or into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until it becomes a paste (no need to puree 100% perfectly).
Shrimp patties mixture – Scrape into a bowl. Mix in the chopped shrimp, green onion, salt and pepper. The mix will be sloppy, but don’t worry – it firms up as it cooks, and the shaping method handles the softness.
Dredging station – Put the egg and flour in separate shallow bowls, and the panko on a plate (need squishing space).
Breading – Using slightly wet hands, roll mixture into 4 balls. Coat ball in flour, then egg (let the excess drip off), then press down into a patty in the panko. Make it a little larger than the size of your bun (it shrinks a little). Flip using a spatula, press down to adhere panko and make sure to coat the sides. Remove with a spatula onto a plate, repeat with remaining balls.
Cook – Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Cook patties for 2 minutes on each side until golden, then remove onto a paper towel lined tray.
Assemble burgers as follows – smear base with sauce. Top with the shrimp patty, cover with pickles, pile on lettuce. Smear top with sauce, place on top.
Notes
- Shrimp – You lose a lot of weight in water when thawing prawns so that needs to be factored in here. Start with 1 lb frozen, expect to lose some weight in water as it thaws, to end up with 14oz thawed.
- Rolls – It is fine if your buns are a little larger, just make your patties larger and thinner. I prefer smaller because the patties are quite soft (softer than beef burgers) so can be tricky to handle if they are too large.
Making ahead – The burgers can be breaded then left on a plate for a few hours to cook later. Bread well, as the panko does absorb moisture as it sits around. Once cooked, the shrimp patties will keep for 3 days in the fridge. To warm, pan-fry to re-crisp the coating. Not suitable for freezing.
