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Sep 18, 2014

eggplant sriracha bbq burger


Day 14 VeganMoFo Burger Hoopla continues with this Eggplant Sriracha BBQ Burger with Zucchini Slaw. This is an Asian-inspired burger of eggplant slices grilled and basted in Sriracha BBQ Sauce.

There are Asian flavors spiking this burger throughout, in the BBQ sauce and the slaw: tamari, sriracha, sesame seed oil, rice vinegar and Chinese 5-spice powder. I love using that spice because most of us have it in the back of the cabinet, yet seldom get the chance to cook with it; it adds so much flavor!




You can see all those wonderful flavors coating the grilled eggplants. So good and so fast!




As an aside, you can see hot hot it is in San Diego: we don't have central air, and as soon as I took the bottle of sriracha out of the fridge, it immediately began to condense the water from the air and the label got all soggy. Sheesh.






Oops! Who is that?! Jimmy photobombed my shoot. He took a sniff, turned right around, not being one for eggplant, and promptly went to the back of the table to lay down for the duration. Spot him in the remaining photos.

As soon as I moved the food out of the way, he claimed his rightful spot in the front. I've noticed that he and I are taking turns using the table!





This burger is outrageously good! Even my youngest took a careful bite, looked at me wide-eyed and said, "I cannot believe I like this so much - it has everything I don't like!" She dislikes eggplant, ginger, ziucchini and bbq sauce.

Goes to prove that the sum of the parts can be very different than the parts themselves.




Eggplant Sriracha BBQ Burger with Zucchini Slaw
Makes 4 to 6 burgers
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
1 small onion, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
⅔ cups ketchup
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon reduced sodium tamari
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sriracha (or more)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
½ teaspoon dry ground ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 large eggplant, cut into ¾-inch slices (you will need 8 slices for 4 burgers)
4 to 6 (3-inch) buns, not sliced
Vegan Mayonnaise, to taste
Zucchini Slaw, recipe below
1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Add the ketchup, 2 tablespoons tamari, vinegar, sriracha, brown sugar, 5-spice and ginger, stir and cook over medium-low for 8 minutes to thicken and marry flavors. Remove from heat.
2. Combine the remaining teaspoon oil and tamari and the vegetable broth in a large bowl. Toss the eggplant in the marinade and set aside while grill pan preheats.
3. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Spray each slice of eggplant with oil before placing on grill pan. Cook the eggplant until almost tender, about 2 minutes per side. Baste the eggplant with the BBQ sauce and cook until glazed and the eggplant is tender, about 1 more minute per side.
4. Toast the buns to warm. Cut the buns in half almost all the way through, but not completely. This will help keep the sandwich together. Spread a little mayo on one side of the bun, add 2 eggplant slices, a bit more BBQ sauce and top generously with the slaw. Serve.
Zucchini Slaw
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon fresh ground ginger
1 garlic clove. minced
1 medium zucchini, julienned or grated (use a julienne peeler)
2 cups shredded baby kale
¼ small onion, grated
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Combine the lime juice, tamari, sugar, ginger and garlic in a large bowl.
2. Add the zucchini, kale, onion and cilantro. Toss to mix. Season with salt and black pepper.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.


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If you haven't seen the giveaway for the cookbook Vegan Tacos by Jason Wyrick, it is HERE. Don't miss it.



12 comments:

  1. This looks amazing! Now I know what I'm going to do with the eggplant I have sitting in my fridge! Thanks Zsu.

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  2. holy moly! this sounds amazing. I like all the things your daughter doesn't like, so that even further increases my chances of liking this burger!! Also, I have that same ninja squirrel sriracha, I love their logo!

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  3. Look at the grill marks on that aubergine! So perfect! Jimmy is super gorgeous too!

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  4. What a gorgeous kitty. I would encourage him to photobomb more often. ;)

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  5. This is the perfect burger for me to recreate for my vegetarian household.. looks totally delicious. Thanks for sharing the great recipe!

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu