Homemade burger with mixed herb bun and chicken & tofu patty

Dear son hates veggies so usually I have to spend extra afford to make him eat them. Most of the time I would simply cut up the veggies into small pieces and mix them into his rice; then he would grudging eat them with his favourite dish (like eggs and fried stuff). Sometimes I would add the veggies into dishes like meatballs or steamed egg, and once in a while I would make tofu veggie burger and he would chomp the entire burger unknowingly :p

This homemade burger made from mixed herb bun and chicken & tofu patty was inspired by Veronica of Peng's Kitchen who posted her recipe in FB group "Singapore Home Cooks". I have made similar tofu burger before but I like her idea of adding rolled oats into the patty as well as the mixed herb bun. So decided to create a slightly different version with ingredients I have in my kitchen. Hers was a vegetarian version whereas mine was not.

For the burger bun, instead of using rye and semolina (Veronica used bread, rye and semolina flour), I used bread, plain and wholemeal flour. Had wanted to use half and half bread flour and wholemeal flour but realised I had only a bit of bread flour left, well just made do with plain flour. The recipe used a straight dough method, mix all ingredients, knead into smooth dough, proof, shape, then proof again, and ready to bake.

The recipe can yield 6 buns, each dough about 85 to 90g. For one of the dough, I halved it to make 2 mini buns for dear son. My kitchen was filled with a whiff of mixed herb fragrance as the buns were baking, love it!

Mixed Herb Bun
(yields 6 buns, each dough weighing about 85-90g)

Ingredients

• 35g bread flour (or 150g bread flour, omitting the plain flour)
• 115g plain flour
• 150g wholemeal flour
• 1 tbsp Italian mixed herbs
• 3g salt
• 11g sugar
• 6g instant yeast
• 15g olive oil
• 210-225g warm water

Steps

1. Add all the ingredients except water into an electric mixer attached with dough hook.
2. Add water bit by bit while the dough hook is kneading the dough.
3. Knead until the dough is smooth, about 10-15 mins.
4. Shape into a ball, place it into a slightly oiled big bowl and cover with clingwrap.
5. Proof for 60 mins or till dough has doubled in bulk.
6. After 60 mins, knead the dough to remove the air/gas.
7. Weigh and shape the dough into desired portions and place each dough separated on a baking tray covered with grease-proof paper or Silpat mat. Cover and proof for another 60 mins.
8. Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius.
9. Before baking the buns, glaze with egg wash.
10. Bake for 20 mins at 180 degree celsius.
11. After 20 mins, remove from oven and glaze with salted butter to give a tinge of shine.

For the chicken & tofu patty, I used chicken fillet, egg tofu, broccoli, carrot, fresh black fungus, rolled oats and mozzarella cheese. This is a pretty versatile burger patty where many different types of ingredients can be added according to personal preference. For the cooking, can either coat with bread crumbs and pan fry for a crispy texture, or just pan fry on its own, or cook using air fryer. Can also prep the burger patty in advance, place the patties in air-tight box separating each patty using grease proof paper or plastic sheets and store in fridge overnight.

Chicken & Tofu Patty
(yields 5-6 patties)

Ingredients

• 200g chicken fillet (about 4 pieces), minced
• 150g egg tofu (1 tube), squeeze out from tube directly
• 2 florets broccoli, finely chopped
• 1/2 carrot, grated
• 2 pc fresh black fungus, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 3 tbsp mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Bread crumbs for coating

Steps

1. Mix all the ingredients except bread crumbs together, making sure they are well mixed.
2. Divide the mixture into 6 portions, roll into balls then flatten into patties.
3. Heat frying pan on medium heat, pan fry patties as they are, or coat generously with bread crumbs then fry till golden brown on both sides.
4. Serve with burger bun.

Dress up the burger with salad leaves, tomato, cucumber, mayonnaise or any condiments of your choice. For me, I like to drizzle some tonkatsu sauce for some tang as well. Yums!

The bun is not the fluffy and soft texture type, it's slightly chewy and hard probably coz of wholemeal flour used, but it went well with the patty, and I like the mixed herb taste.

As for the patty, I prefer bread crumb coating and pan fried so it's crispy on the outside and juicy and tender inside. The taste of veggie was masked by the tofu and cheese so picky kids who hate veggies won't even notice :p

Dear son's serving. He couldn't finish both burgers, ate one burger and half a bun of the other, and 3 pieces of the smiley face potato (whatever you call it) as a side treat. In case you are wondering, yes he removed the salad leaves and tomato. Well, at least he ate the burger and patty with no fuss at all.