Thai Chicken Burgers

  
  

I haven't put any recipes on my blog for awhile.  That is because I am going carb free for awhile and it is BORING.  Yeah, yeah, I am never hungry, but life is so less fun with out BAKED GOODS.  Of course my love for white sugar and processed flour is what got me in the position where I must forgo them.  So I will take a break and then slowly work my way back to them as I ALWAYS do.  No matter how many times I tell myself I won't.  At least this time I haven't gone too far to the dark side.

But cooking veggies and eating salads are kind of boring so I went to the Atkins site and found a recipe to use.  They made Spicy Thai Chicken Burgers, but I am not into spicy.  No I just made...

Thai Chicken Burgers

1 pound chicken breasts
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
2 or 3 green onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon Splenda (I used it, but it is probably optional)
a smattering, or pinch of cayenne.  Or more if you like it!
1 egg white ( I used the white but I don't see why I couldn't just dump in a whole egg!)
1/3 cup canned coconut milk
oil for frying

   

When I went to the store to buy the ingredients, the chicken breasts were way more expensive than the breasts complete with ribs and skin.  I went cheap and bought the whole shebang and trimmed them at home.  Just breasts would have been easier!

   

I cut them in chunks and added them to the food processor.  Chop the cilantro leaves, toss the stems into the compost bin.  Cut up 2 big or 3 little green onions.

   

Add them with the lemon zest, vinegar, garlic powder, Splenda (if you use it), red pepper and the egg white to the food processor.  Pulse it 6 or 7 times until the chicken is finely ground, but not a paste.

   

Add the coconut milk and pulse a few more times to mix it all in.

I used a cast iron pan and heated a bit of the oil.  I was going to make patties, but then thought about my ice cream scoop.  It made the perfect size patty and I didn't have to get my hands all icky.

   

Cook a few at a time.  It took about 3 minutes on each side to get nice and brown and so there was no pink left.  You may need to add a bit more oil for the next batch.  I froze the extras for an easy meal another day.

Serve on a bed of lettuce with chopped tomatoes and avocado.  Or with a side of another vegetable.  I added a wee bit of dressing to the salad greens.

Other than the coconut and cilantro, I don't know how Thai this is.  But when I serve the rest of the burgers, I think I will make a peanut sauce.  Now we're talking Thai!

Tara suggested using the rest of the can of coconut milk to make a Pina Colada. Not a low carb drink, but a GREAT suggestion.  Or maybe a curry over vegetables (with NO rice :/)  Now I know my next meal!