Martin Yan | jb's pour house

It happens to me too. Usually on Friday or Saturday nights, but sometimes it happens on week nights too. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like cooking. (Gasp!)

On those nights where I’m just not up for the slicing, dicing, sautéing, etc., I’m usually met with the same answer.

What do you want for dinner? (me)

Chinese! (B)

Sadly for B, 9 times out of 10, Chinese food just does not appeal to me. Why this is I don’t know, as I really do enjoy Chinese food. I love rice, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, spicy sauces, and the umami of soy sauce. And crab rangoon? Don’t get me started. I don’t even want to publish the quantities I am capable of consuming. It’s bad. It’s embarrassing. It’s impressive.

Time and time again, I steer us in another direction. But on those nights when our tastebuds align, I’m reminded again of how much I enjoy the flavors that permeate Chinese cuisine. So when I stumbled across the Dynasty Burger, I knew this would be something we’d both enjoy. It has all of the elements that we love, minus the fried meat. And the crab rangoon. *boo*

Sadness over the absence of the crab rangoon now behind me, I set about prepping the ingredients for the burger. A quick hoisin-chili garlic barbeque sauce came together in minutes and with a few quick chops, the burger patties were ready as well. On to the hot grill they went and in no time, we had plated burgers and steamed edamame for a lazy weeknight dinner. The burgers, studded with shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts, had plenty of contrast and crunch. A little grated fresh ginger and fresh garlic added some zing to the patties. As the hoisin barbeque sauce dripped off of our burgers and onto our plates and hands, we agreed – this is a good burger. And, best of all, it satisfied B’s cravings for Chinese.

dynasty burger

recipe: adapted from Martin Yan

¼ c. barbeque sauce

¼ c. hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp. chili garlic sauce

2 tsp. dark sesame oil

1 lb. ground beef (recommended: 85% lean)

2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

¼ c. finely chopped shiitake mushrooms

¼ c. finely chopped water chestnuts

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp. kosher salt

Lettuce

Tomato, sliced

Red onion, sliced

Hamburger buns

Preheat a grill to medium high.

Combine barbeque sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce and 2 tsp. sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine ground beef, soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, black pepper and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Mix until just combined. Separate into four equal portions and form patties.

Place burgers over direct heat and cook for about 4 minutes per side. Remove burgers from grill and place on hamburger buns. Top with about 1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Serve immediately (with a side of steamed edamame if you wish!).

Now I’m off to find some crab rangoon. Yum!

– j