Chicken Rice Burger

Rice burger has been on my to-make list for a long time! Initially I have plans to make Teriyaki Rice Burger this week, but after knowing that Prima Taste is organising a "Prima Taste Authentic Asia Cooking Sauces Contest" (in collaboration with Singapore Home Cooks), I decided to make a different Rice Burger instead.

Yep, a Chicken Rice Burger using Prima Taste "Fragrant Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste".

Actually I twisted my wrist last week and have barely recovered. Luckily the paste is really convenient and easy to use and it's so flavourful on its own that I don't have to prepare additional seasonings. In fact, I already have most of the ingredients at home :)

Preparation is quite easy. I already have boneless skinless chicken thighs at home (courtesy of Sasha's Fine Foods), so I just cut the chicken thighs to the size I want and marinated them using a packet of the Chicken Rice Paste overnight. The next day, coat the chicken generously with potato starch then pan-fry till golden brown.

For the rice, I use Japanese short-grain rice as it's more sticky and easier mould into rice patties. To make the rice burger more healthy, I added some ten-grain rice. After washing the rice, mix a packet of chicken rice paste and water to the rice and cook in the rice cooker. After the rice is done, mould them into rice patties.


I reckoned it might be too dry with the rice and chicken alone, so made some chicken rice chilli as well. What's chicken rice without chilli right? 

Finally assemble the chicken rice burger  with rice patty, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chicken thigh, some chicken rice chilli, dark or sweet soy sauce and top with another rice patty.

I've put together a short video-clip of the process below as well.

Chicken Rice Burger
(makes 4 burgers)

Ingredients

Chicken

• 250g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 4 pieces (about 7cmx7cm)
• 1 packet of Prima Taste Fragrant Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste
• Potato Starch

Chicken Rice

• 1 cup Japanese short-grain rice 
• 25g ten-grain rice
• 1 packet of Prima Taste Fragrant Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste

 Chicken rice chilli

• 3 large chilli
  
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 slices ginger
• 1 tbsp chicken stock
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar, to taste
• Juice from 1 lime

Additional

• 4 slices tomato
• 4 slices cucumber
• 4 leaves lettuce
• Kecap manis or dark soy sauce
• Coriander, spring onion (garnish)

Steps

1. Marinate the chicken thighs with chicken rice paste and store in fridge overnight. Before cooking, remove the thighs from the fridge to bring to room temperature.
2. Cook chicken rice: Wash and rinse short-grain rice and ten-grain rice a few times, drain and add the rice into a rice pot. Add a packet of chicken rice paste to the rice and mix well. Add water to about 1 and 1/4 marking on the rice pot, place rice pot into cooker and set to cook. After rice is cooked, let it rest for 15 mins before sitrring the rice.
3. Make rice patties: Place a piece of clingwrap over a 7cm ring mould, add about 2-3 tbsp of chicken rice into the mould, press hard to compress, wrap up the rice and set aside. Repeat till all the rice are used up.
4. Cook the chicken: Coat the chicken thighs with potato starch. Add cooking oil to frying pan on medium heat. Pan-fry the chicken till golden brown on both sides.
5. Make chicken rice chilli: Blend all the ingredients into a watery paste.
6. Assemble: Remove clingwrap from one rice patty, place lettuce leaves on the rice patty, follow by tomato, cucumber and chicken thigh. Add desired amount of chilli sauce and kecap manis/dark soy sauce (optional) and top with another piece of rice patty. Best eaten warm.

When the chicken rice was in the midst of cooking in the rice cooker, the whole house was filled with an intoxicating aroma! After the rice was cooked, I couldn't resist stealing mouthfuls of it!

Likewise when I was frying the chicken thighs, they looked and smelled so fragrant that I wanted to bite into them immediately! Well, actually I prepared two extra pieces (just in case) so I could taste test first. They tasted soooooo yummy! Crispy on the outside with very flavourful meat texture as the meat was marinated in the paste overnight and absorbed all the wonderful seasonings.

The chicken rice burger was totally yummy! Aromatic rice patties, crispy and juicy chicken, crunchy and refreshing vegetables and tantalising chilli sauce with sweet soy sauce. Very satisfying indeed.

So happy that I managed to make this Chicken Rice Burger, wish me luck for the contest!