The long weekend was the perfect time to get some grilling done and I took full advantage of it! Burgers were on the top of my list of things to grill but I wanted to try something a little different. The last time that I made a banh mi sandwich I remembered thinking that a burger with all of the flavours and condiments of a banh mi sandwich would be a good idea.
I decided to go with pork as the meat and I built the flavour using ingredients from my favourite Vietnamese dishes including garlic, ginger, fish sauce, cilantro, green onions and a birds eye chili for some heat. I have been hooked on Vietnamese caramel shrimp ever since I discovered it and I find that the sweet and savoury caramel sauce works particularly well in a banh mi sandwich and I could not resist making a caramel sauce to both use in the patties and to smother the burgers in. I finished the burgers off with some pickled carrots and daikon radish , cool and juicy cucumbers, spicy jalapenos, cilantro and mayonnaise to complete the medley of flavours.
The banh mi style burgers turned out amazingly well! In addition to being super easy to make they tasted fantastic! I really enjoyed the combinations of flavours and all of the fresh ingredients were definitely fit for summer. I served the burgers with a side of mayoless sesame and ginger coleslaw .
Banh Mi Burgers
Pork burgers filled with the fresh flavours of Vietnamese banh mi sandwich.
ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon cramel sauce (see below)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 birds eye chili, sliced
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce (see below)
- 4 buns
- 1/2 cup pickled carrots and daikon radish
- 12 slices cucumber
- 2 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
- cilantro to taste
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
directions
- Mix the pork, garlic, ginger, green onion, cilantro, fish sauce, caramel sauce, lime zest and jalapeno.
- Form the mixture into 4 patties.
- Grill over medium heat until cooked, about 4-6 minutes per side.
- Assemble burgers and enjoy.
Vietnamese Caramel BBQ Sauce
A Vietnamese caramel sauce seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice and shallots
ingredients
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablsepoons water
- 2 tablsepoons water
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 lime (juice)
- 1 birds eye chili, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
directions
- Melt the sugar into the water over medium heat and simmer until it turns a deep golden brown.
- Mix the water, fish sauce and lime juice and carefully add the water, heating until the caramel dissolves.
- Add the chili, garlic and shallots and simmer to reduce by half, about 3-5 minutes.
- mix the cornstarch into the water, mix it into the sauce and simmer until it thickens, about a minute.
Sue says
This sounds delish! As a veg'n though, I can't do the pork thing. So I'm gonna borrow your idea and your sauce recipe and see what I can do without meat. Cuz a good banh mi is almost impossible to find!!! 🙂
Quirky Jessi says
I love finding new ways to change classic dishes into completely different meals. In this case, taking a burger and making it a delicious Vietnamese dish looks incredible. <3
Anonymous says
This looks absolutely amazing. Is that a typo in the caramel recipe? Two times 2 tablespoons?
Thanks!!!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
What a marvelous combination! This burger looks so droolworthy and tasty.
Cheers,
Rosa
Beth (Jam and Clotted Cream) says
Your photo's are amazing as always. Going to have to try the Vietnamese BBQ sauce – sounds delish!
Foodycat says
I have got to get on the banh mi bandwagon – I love all those flavours.
Joanne says
This is definitely one of the most unique burgers I've seen in a while! I especially love the caramel sauce!
Deborah Dowd says
I love Banh mi and this version looks like a great way to do this at home!
Kevin says
Anonymous: I use water twice in this recipe, once to help melt the sugar and a second time to melt the caramel back into a liquid.
Marisa says
Now these are burgers I can get addicted to! That caramal sauce and all the Vietnamese flavours sounds amazing.
Mai says
hmmm you're such a genius. I eat banh mi at least once a week. I'm excited to try this recipe!
We Are Not Martha says
What a beautiful colorful burger! I Love that you made it banh mi style and the caramel BBQ sauce is blowing my mind!
Sues
vanillasugar says
that caramel sauce i would drink, straight up. those flavors, oh heavens yes.
saving this one for sure.
kevin you NEED your own joint.
The Short (dis)Order Cook says
These look heavenly! I was working part-time in NYC for the past year and there was a bahn mi shop on the block. I was always there. I have returned full time to my regular office and I do miss those sandwiches. You gave me a fun way to recall the memories!
Jeane - tienda de ciclismo says
that habureger is the best hamburger wich a tasted on my live thanks for the recipe. Thanks.
spcookiequeen says
I love Vietnamese flavors, this is a nice twist on the Banh Mi. Looks great over here.
-Gina-
concrete polishing says
Wow ! nice burger .. thanks a lot for the post ..
Chris says
What a seriously good looking burger, Kevin. Totally unique approach to the same ol' burger!
Anonymous says
What exactly is a birds eye pepper? Thanks!!!
Kevin says
Anonymous The bird's eye or Thai chili is a chili commonly used in south east Asian that is fairly hot. If you cannot find them then you can substitute with a chili that you can find and use enough to get the desired level of heat. Chilies de arbol or jalapeno chilies would work well.
Anonymous says
I just made this. It tasted wonderful. Thank you so much 🙂
Katina says
This burger is amazingly delicious. I didnt think I could acheive this amount of flavor so easily. A bit sweet and a bit spicy is the perfect combo. This will be made again.
Vanessa P says
I just made this burger! It was delicious. I wasn't able to get daikon, so I just skipped it. Also my caramel didn't turn out as nice and dark as yours, but I am sure the flavor was similar. My patties seemed to fall apart, I may add some sort of binder next time. Thanks for the recipe! Love your blog!
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Anonymous says
Holly shit! Best burgers I had so far… What a genius you are!