Bring all the fire and spice of Thai street food to your kitchen without the long flight and 30C+ heat! Salmon burgers with spicy carrot cucumber slaw have all the bang bang flavours of Thai fishcakes and Som Tam but made with conveniently locally available ingredients.
Wedge your burger and slaw between a fresh white hamburger bun for a fusion of East meets West.
How to make salmon burgers
These salmon burgers are the super-sized (and Asian-flavoured) cousins of my salmon fishcakes. If you’ve made them already, you’ll know I prefer to use raw salmon to cooked or canned.
It definitely makes for a more moist and juicy burger. However, if cooked or canned is what’s available to you, go ahead! They’ll still taste great and be just as good for you.
You’ll also notice that both recipes are carb-light, i.e. no potato. As these are burgers and will go in a bun, I don’t want to double up on starch. I just use a little breadcrumbs and an egg to bind the mixture together.
Using a food processor is the easiest method. It minces the salmon for you and combines all the ingredients evenly. To flavour the salmon burgers I’ve gone Thai-inspired. I just love the pow-wow of ginger, chilli and lime. Don’t you??
What flavours to add
The burst and sparks of sizzling chillies in Thai street food has always attracted me, but some of the exotic ingredients can be tricky to track down. So I’ve made this recipe as accessible as possible while trying to stay true to my muse.
A typical Som Tam is made with green, unripe papaya and teeny tiny, dried shrimp or black crabs. Not items my local supermarket stocks, or things my kids would ever eat! So, I’ve substituted papaya with cucumber for a similar colour and bite, and fish sauce, so no-one can complain the crustaceans are creeping them out.
For me, peanuts are one of my favourite parts of this salad. However, they are easily omitted if you have any allergies.
Salmon isn’t commonly used in South East Asian cooking either. But for my jumbo burgers, the firm fleshiness fits the bill. Plus, it has a high nutritional value and my kids don’t take offence to its level of fishiness.
Salmon burger sauce
Every burger has to have a saucy sidekick. For this Asian-inspired Thai-style version, what could be better than a bit of Sriracha mayo?
½ a cup of store-bought mayonnaise and a two generous (or not, up to you!) tablespoonfuls of Sriracha make this salmon burger an eye-popping, jaw-dropping, taste of Thailand.
Recipe tips and notes
- I’ve used a fresh salmon fillet for my burgers, but you can use your preferred fish. Sustainable white fish basa and pollock would also work. If you are budget conscious, you could use previously frozen fish.
- Fish burgers are tricky- they like to fall apart! To get it right, and keep them together in a neat burger shape, the proportions matter. Follow the recipe closely!
- Although I’m not a fan of frying, I pan-fried these. I think it gives them a slightly crisp edge and a juicy centre. If you are less keen on frying and have an air-fryer, use it! You could also grill them in the oven, or on the BBQ. As mentioned, the burgers are delicate, so they need a gentle touch.
- I adore this Asian slaw, which was inspired by a slaw in another salmon recipe of mine! It’s fresh and crunchy and takes your homemade to haute. They might not be your everyday ingredients, but they are all available from supermarkets. So don’t skip it!
Storage and leftovers
Everyone has fish fingers or fishcakes in their freezer, right? They are a busy parent’s failsafe- a reliably healthy and delicious meal when you’ve not had the chance to go shopping, or the weekly budget is tight. And what could be better than a homemade frozen fishcake?
As this recipe is made using raw salmon and no potato filler, the salmon burgers will freeze well and cook as though they were just made.
Both cooked and uncooked frozen burgers will last, well-wrapped, up to two months in the freezer (after that the salmon loses its flavour and that freezer funk takes over).
Whether cooked previously or uncooked, both should be thawed overnight in the fridge before cooking as per the recipe instructions. Make sure the burgers are piping hot all the way through before serving. Then add your burger sauce and slaw!
More burger recipes
- Homemade Beef Burgers
- Epic Smash Burgers
- Greek Chicken Burgers with Feta
- Burger in a Bowl (Bunless Burger)
Salmon Burgers with Spicy Carrot Cucumber Slaw
Ingredients
For the burgers
- 675g/24 oz salmon filets, skin removed (6 salmon filets)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro (coriander)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 lime juice only
- 1 tbsp chilli paste or sriracha
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp salt
- 90g/3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp flour for coating
Carrot Cucumber Slaw
- 1 cucumber cut into ribbons with vegetable peeler
- 1 carrot cut into ribbons with vegetable peeler
- 2-3 spring onions
- ½ red chilli sliced
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts crushed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp lime juice
Sriracha Mayonnaise Sauce
- 125ml/1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 6 burger buns
Instructions
- Remove the skin off the salmon pieces. In a food processor pulse the salmon fillet until roughly minced.
- In a large bowl mix together the minced salmon, minced garlic, grated ginger, chopped cilantro (coriander in the UK), soy sauce, lime juice, sriracha or ½ tsp chilli flakes, an egg, breadcrumbs and salt.
- Set the working surface for shaping the salmon burgers. Add 3 tbsp of flour to a large plate or a clean cutting board. Divide the salmon mixture into 6 equal parts, then roll each of them in your hands to form a ball, then flatten it slightly and dip into the flour to coat each burger. Repeat until the salmon mixture is gone. Place the salmon burgers on a cutting board or a tray and put them in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up. (They will not freeze.)
- While the burgers are in the freezer, make the slaw and the burger sauce. Prepare the dressing by combining crushed peanuts, sliced green onions, sliced red chilli, chopped cilantro, garlic, salt, brown sugar, fish sauce, lime zest and juice. Set aside.
- Peel carrots, then slice them and cucumbers into thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Combine them in a medium sized bowl and gently toss with the dressing. Prepare the burger sauce by combining the mayonnaise with the sriracha.
- Take the salmon burgers out of the frizzer and fry them in hot olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side until crispy on the outside and cooked all the way through. Place them on a paper towel lined platter to drain the excess oil.
- Assemble the burgers. Toast each half of the burger buns, then spread the burger sauce on the bottom bun, top with a salmon burger and a generous helping of the slaw, finish with the top bun. (The slaw will be quite wet, so make sure to NOT include the juices in your burger!)
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