Hoisin Black Bean Burger with Spicy Sesame Sauce

Chinese food is delicious. BBQ food is delicious. Here you get double the deliciousness because this is a Chinese BBQ burger. The burger is protein packed, nutty and flavorful topped with grilled veggies and a spicy sesame sauce. Just don’t try to eat it with chopsticks.

 

Hoisin Black Bean Burgers with Spicy Sesame Sauce

 

GF

Makes 4 large or 6 medium burgers

 

For the Spicy Sesame Sauce­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

      ½ cup vegan mayo

1 tsp. Sriracha

½ tsp. toasted sesame oil

 

For the Hoisin Burgers­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

¾ cup quinoa, rinsed

Kosher salt

2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 small carrot, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 scallions, chopped

1-15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbs. peanut butter

1 Tbs. gluten-free tamari

1 Tbs. + 3 Tbs. hoisin sauce

1/3 cup cashews, soaked for a few hours

1 tsp. ground ginger or 1 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp. 5-Spice Powder

2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped

1 bunch of scallions

4 oz. bean sprouts

1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil

2 Tbs. canola oil

4 gluten-free buns

 

To make the Spicy Sesame Sauce: Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

To make the Hoisin Burgers: Bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the quinoa and a pinch of salt. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork and set aside.

 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and scallions to the skillet and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. Add half the black beans to the skillet and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.

 

Add the black bean-veggie mixture to a food processor. Add 1 cup of the cooked quinoa to the food processor. Add the peanut butter, tamari, hoisin sauce, cashews, ginger, 5-Spice powder and cilantro to the food processor. Process until you have a smooth mixture. Taste for any spice adjustments.

 

Transfer the burger mixture to a large bowl. Fold in the remaining black beans and ½ cup cooked quinoa. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

 

When you are ready to cook the burgers, remove the mixture from the fridge and make the patties. Divide the mixture into 4 patties. Using a 3 ½” cookie cutter ensures a perfectly formed, dense, thick burger patty. Let the patties rest while you prepare the scallions and bean sprouts.

 

Trim the ends off the scallions. Toss the scallions and bean sprouts in the toasted sesame oil. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Carefully lay the scallions onto the grill pan and grill until somewhat blackened (but not burnt) on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the scallions to a paper towel-lined plate and grill the bean sprouts. Transfer the sprouts to the plate and set aside.

 

Heat the canola oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties until browned, about 6 minutes per side. You may want to flip them carefully several times to ensure that the inside cooks while the outside doesn’t burn. When the burgers are just about done, brush some hoisin sauce on the burger, and flip it over to cook for 30 seconds. While it’s cooking, brush the other side with hoisin sauce and flip it to cook the second side for 30 seconds. This will caramelize the hoisin sauce a bit.

 

Slather each bun top and bottom with the Spicy Sesame Sauce. Lay the burgers on the bun bottom. Top with grilled scallions and bean sprouts. Top with bun tops and serve.

 

 

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