Lamb was used in the original recipe. I can get lamb chops and stewing lamb and even a whole lamb leg in these parts but not ground or minced lamb. So, I had to settle for ground beef. Rib eye. If you have access to ground lamb, I suggest you go for it and and let us know how it turns out.
What is five spice powder? It is a powdered mixture made with five different spices, as the name suggests. But what spices are combined is not always the same. They can be the bark of the cassia tree, cassia buds, star anise or anise seeds, ginger and cloves. Or, they can be Sichuan pepper, star anise (or anise seeds), cassia bark, cloves, and fennel seeds. Some even contain cinnamon bark instead of cassia bark. You can make your own or you can buy the convenient packets sold in most supermarkets and Oriental food shops.
These burgers are served with a special aioli and, in lieu of the usual onion and pickle slices, with cucumber and pepper relish.
Ingredients
- 1 k. of ground beef
1 medium-sized onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
1 tbsp. of five spice powder
1-1/2 tbsp. of salt (less if you like your burger bland — we don’t!)
1 tbsp. of freshly ground black pepper
1 eggFor the aioli:
1 c. of mayonnaise
juice of half a lemon (more, if you like)
1/2 tsp. of five spice powderInstructions
Place the ground beef in a bowl.
Peel the onion, garlic and ginger.
Chop the onion.
Finely grate the garlic and ginger.
Add the onion, garlic and ginger to the ground beef.
Next, add the salt, pepper and five spice powder.
Add the egg.
Mix everything thoroughly. By hand is best so you can feel if the texture is uniform.
Form into 6 to 8 patties. Separate each with a piece of wax (baking) paper and keep in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavors to develop and infuse.
Grill, broil or pan fry your burgers. And don’t forget to toast the burger buns too.
While the burgers cook, prepare the aioli. Aioli is really flavored mayo although some cooks like to categorize it as a distinct garlic emulsion. Probably because aioli always includes garlic among the ingredients and classic aioli is made without egg yolks. You can prepare the emulsion called aioli the traditional way or you can use mayo like I did.
Place the mayo in a bowl, add the five spice powder and lemon juice.
Whisk until smooth.
Spread some aioli on the bottom half of the bun.
Top with slices of tomatoes.
Arrange the burger on top of the tomatoes. Garnish with cucumber and pepper relish.
Cooking time (duration): 20 minutes excluding marinating time
Number of servings (yield): Makes 6 super large, or 8 large, burgers
been a reader for quite a time,would you have a suggestion on how to make my burgers go round? they would somehow puff up in the middle.they’d end up quite meatball-ish.
sincerely,
eric lee
ms. connie, can i substitute all spice powder to 5 spice powder? do they have almost the same taste?
You can Google allspice (one word) and five spice powder to find out how they are different from one another. Then you can decide if substitution is advisable.
http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/food/foodfeatures/993536/allspice-mixed-spice-and-five-spice
hahaha! might not taste good if i substitute with allspice powder.