Recipe: Miso Pulled Chicken Pistachio Pesto Burger
How do you make burgers more interesting?
There are many types of burgers now – fat juicy cheesy spilling-out-of-the-bun types, gourmet multi-layered gastro burgers, expensive up-market caviar show-stoppers, healthy vegetarian and vegan creations and flavor-packed fusion burgers. This Miso Pulled Chicken Pistachio Pesto Burger falls into the last category.
Pulled Chicken Burger
A beautiful combination of Japanese miso pulled chicken, combined with fresh zingy lemon drizzled lettuce, cucumber and topped with a crunchy chilli pistachio pesto sauce. It’s fresh, it’s exciting and is a slightly healthier option than the other burgers dripping with cheese.
If you liked this recipe you might also be interested in:
- Pink Pepper Pork Burger – with harissa feta sauce, red cabbage slaw, and fried tomato
- Parmesan Fried Pesto Egg Burger – with crunchy radicchio, tomatoes, onion and lemon
- Sambal Fried Chicken Burger – with zingy Asian-style lemongrass and sambal sauce
Miso Pulled Chicken Pistachio Pesto Burger
Ingredients
Burger ingredients
- 2 brioche buns
- 2 medium chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 small Romain lettuce
- 1/4 cucumber
- 1/2 lemon
- Salt
- Butter for the buns
Miso Sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tsp ginger minced
- 2 Tbsp tomato sauce
- 60 ml water or light chicken stock
Pistachio Basil Pesto
- 1/4 cup shelled pistachios 60ml
- 1/2 small garlic clove crushed
- 1 cup basil tightly packed
- juice of half a medium lemon
- 60 ml olive oil
- 1 small green chilli minced
Instructions
- Place chicken fillets in a saucepan and cover with salted water. Once the water has come to a boil, cover with a lid and turn to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Whilst chicken breasts are poaching, prepare the pistachio pesto. Chop pistachios into small chunks. Chop basil into small pieces. Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine well. Set aside.
- For the miso sauce: Heat a saucepan with vegetable oil, gently fry garlic and ginger for 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and using a fork whisk continuously until it forms a smooth sauce. Remove from heat.
- When chicken is ready remove from water and using 2 forks shred into small pieces. Place chicken into miso sauce and over a gentle heat combine the sauce well with the chicken. If using black sesame seeds sprinkle them through the chicken once it is off the heat.
- Squeeze lemon over shredded lettuce and cucumber slices. Sprinkle with salt.
- Switch oven to grill setting and toast the inside of the brioche buns until nicely browned.
- Butter each side of the bun generously. Layer first with lettuce, then pulled chicken, cucumber and top with pistachio pesto.