A lovely homemade sweet chilli dressing adds that classic hot, sweet, salty and sour flavour we all love and is a perfect foil to the chicken and mango.
1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil, plus extra for cooking
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2.5-cm/1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoons shrimp paste (from Thai and Asian food stores)
1 tablespoon desiccated/shredded coconut
1 teaspoon caster/white granulated sugar
500 g/1 lb. 2 oz. skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets, roughly chopped
For the sweet chilli dressing
1 chilli, deseeded and sliced
Juice of 2 limes, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons caster/white granulated sugar
To serve
4 rolls
A handful of Asian salad leaves
A handful of fresh herbs (e.g. Thai basil, coriander/cilantro, mint)
1 mango, peeled, stoned and sliced
2 tablespoons crispy fried shallots
A ridged stovetop grill pan
SERVES 4
Heat the oil in a wok and gently fry the shallot, garlic and ginger for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the shrimp paste, coconut and sugar and stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant, then continue to stir until you have a slightly sticky paste mix. Set aside to let cool.
Place the chicken pieces in a food processor with the cooled spice paste and blend until coarsely minced. Shape into 8 small burger patties. Press each burger down to make them nice and flat, then cover and chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the chilli dressing. Place the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
Heat a ridged stovetop grill pan over a high heat. Brush the patties with a little oil and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side until charred and cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes.
To serve, cut the rolls almost in half and open out wide. Fill with salad leaves and herbs. Top each roll with 2 burgers and a few mango slices. Drizzle over the dressing and scatter over the crispy shallots. Serve at once.
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