I LOVE a good burger, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I really love a burger salad. Is that weird? I like beef burgers in a spring salad, turkey burgers with caesar salad, veggie burgers in a taco salad. I never caught on to my burger quirk until now.

This weekend I had a hankering for a chicken burger, but instead of craving it on a burger bun with all the fixins, I wanted it on a version of this kale salad.

I decided to go with some Thai flavorings for the burger because it adds a great savory component to the chicken.

This burger is very versatile. It would taste great on its own or built up with a bun, cheese, dijon mustard, red onion, lettuce and tomato. Yum, I may even make that with the leftovers.

Cooking these in a sauté pan is a great way to sear in some flavor, but they would be great on the grill too.

Ingredients: makes 4 burgers

1 lb ground chicken

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely minced

1 teaspoon red chili flake

2 teaspoons fish sauce

2 tablespoon safflower or canola oil, for sautéing

Pinch S&P

Recipe:

In a mixing bowl, add the first 6 ingredients and mix together until incorporated evenly. Form into 4 burgers and hold on parchment paper.

Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Rub each burger on both sides with a bit of the safflower oil and cook for about 8 minutes on the first side and another 5 minutes on the second, or until nicely browned.

Assemble with kale salad or the burger fixins of your choice.

Happy eating!