This Japanese-facing pescatarian dish is another of what I consider a "Friday night special" recipe — minimum effort, maximum taste and a few more interesting flavours than most "comfort food" with a generally lower carb count. Nothing culturally authentic other than really being delicious fast food.
You can always adjust this recipe to using your own burger press. My sister-in-law Patricia gave me one a few years ago and I have been pressing out burgers in every imaginable form since then. This dish, however, assumes you don't need one.
This recipe is for two diners. Show your prowess at sums if you need to do it for any other number sitting down at the table.
Shopping list
For the burgers
1 fillet of salmon; cooked or, better still, "hot smoked"
1 fillet of skinless cod, cooked
Approx. 1 cup of prawns, cooked and shelled
3 to 4 small potatoes; boiled and peeled
1 egg (optional)
A stalk of lemongrass, crushed
The juice and rind of 1 lime
Black pepper to taste
2 x English breakfast muffins per diner
A large clutch of salad leaves
2 x very ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
for the relish
For the "Japatouille"
2 medium white or brown onions, finely diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
Approx. 1.5 cups wild or button mushrooms; washed and sliced
7 or 8 baby corn; sliced
A generous dash of sesame oil
1 red chilli, finely sliced
A generous dash of dark soy sauce
A tabspn of honey
For the slaw
3 or 4 medium carrots; very finely slice or grated
1 quarter small white cabbage, very finely sliced
2 tbspns blackened sesame seeds
Black pepper and salt to taste
Mayonnaise to taste
A dash of yuzu or lemon juice
7 or 8 gherkins, finely sliced
Cooking method
Prepare the slaw and relish first
Mix the grated carrot and sliced cabbage in a bowl. Mix in the mayonnaise until both of the slaw's main vegetables are coated to taste
Add the sliced gherkins and mix in, followed by the blackened sesame seeds, adding additional mayonnaise if necessary
Season with black pepper, salt and a smidgen of yuzu or lemon juice to flavour
Cover and chill in the fridge
For the relish, mix mayonnaise, wasabi paste, seaweed with umami together in a small bowl. Add the yuzu or lime juice to flavour. Cover and store in the fridge.
Get the burgers ready
Mash the potatoes (or the alternatives) in a mixing bowl, using a little sesame oil if needed
Flake the cod and salmon, removing all skin, and fold in; fold in the cooked prawns. Fold in the lemongrass and lime rind/juice; add black pepper to taste
If using the egg, fold in using a fork
Using clean fingers, shape into cakes roughly the circumference of the English breakfast muffins and place on a plate to allow to rest
Do the "Japanouille"
A riff on ratatouille, start by heating a little sesame oil in a frying pan or saucepan. When the oil is suitably hot, add the onions and soften
Once the onions soften, add the diced yellow pepper and mix the two together, adding the chopped red chilli and mushrooms shortly after
Add a generous dash of dark soy and stir in. Add the baby sliced corn
As the mixture begins to produce more liquid, add the honey and stir in
Reduce and, when it begins to turn into a tasty glaze, turn off the heat and set aside
The burgers and the final stretch
While the "Japanouille" is still cooking, slice and heat two English breakfast muffins per diner in a hot oven (in a toaster if you're on speed-dial)
Heat a little sesame oil in a pan (or coat a gridle pan if you prefer). Once hot, start to cook the burgers. Unless using the egg, the "burgers" are likely to crumble and break, even if cooking for an optimum 6 or 7 minutes before turning. It's not a problem: keep them integrated by pushing their substance together with a wooden spoon
While the "burgers" are still cooking, plate the bottom parts of the muffins and add salad leaves and sliced tomatoes
Cook the "burgers" until succulent, then plate onto of the salad bed on the toasted buns. Dress with the chilled relish to taste and cap with the toasted tops of the muffins
Plate the "Japanouille" and serve with a side of the slaw
Alternatives
If you're really a carb-counting beast (muffins, hello!), you can further reduce your carb intake by swapping out the potatoes for approx. 1 sweet potato or a third of a standard-sized celeriac. If you do so, you're strongly advised to opt for the egg to bind the burger ingredients.
I like this recipe with so-called "English breakfast muffins" (in The Sherry-Netherland, maybe). But, it works perfectly well with a plethora of other options from brioche to small wholegrain rolls.
Pairings
This in one of those "over easy" dishes I prefer with beer; Japanese beers like Asahi more specifically. But, if you have any suggestions of other things I could try instead, please do tell... Other than that, I will default to Karel.
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