A Kona Hema 'O Ka Lani

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I made these Pacific Rim Burgers that I had seen on the Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy Blog a couple of weekends back and thought they were so, so good. My parents thought they were "interesting" and didn't seem as in to them as I was. I might make these again when I got back to Australia and get Boyfriend's opinion of them because I was really surprised that my parents weren't raving over these burgers like I was. I served them with sweet potato fries (and I thought the mayo made a good dip for the fries, too) and I thought it was the perfect backyard barbecued dinner to celebrate the start of spring.

Pacific Rim Burgers with Ginger Mayonnaise
Adapted from Kristine Snyder and The Food Network

• 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken ( I used one pack of Trader Joe's minced chicken and it was just a little over 1.25 pounds)
• 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I use 2 cloves.)
• 1 teaspoon Asian hot chili sauce (I use Sambal Oelek and add 2 teasoons!) (I didn't have this so I sprinkled some red pepper flakes in)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup bottled teriyaki glaze (I didn't have any so I used soy sauce)
• 4 teaspoons honey (I use 3 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for hands
• 4 sesame buns, split and toasted
• 1 seedless cucumber, peeled and sliced very thinly (any one want to tell me how you easily deseed a cucumber without being left with just the outside ring? guess I misread this and I was supposed to buy seedless to begin with!)
• Ginger Mayonnaise (recipe follows)

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In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, panko, egg, green onions, chopped cilantro, garlic, chili sauce, and salt. With oiled hands, form mixture into 4 patties ( I think I got more like 6-7 good sized patties out of my meat mixture).

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In a small bowl, mix together the teriyaki glaze and honey. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken patties and cook on both sides, brushing each side with the teriyaki-honey mixture, about 10 minutes, or until fully cooked through. (SGCC Note: I find that the glaze sometimes starts to burn before the burgers are cooked through, so I sear the burgers and finish them off for 10 minutes in a 400 degrees F. oven)

(I did my burgers on the bbq)

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Place burgers on toasted buns and top with cucumber and Ginger Mayonnaise. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and cucumber slices.

Ginger Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayo because that is what we had open)

(I think that I ended up adding more relish and ginger and lime juice and garlic to my mayo to give it a stronger flavor so start out with this and then add extra as needed for your taste)

2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
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In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.