Thai Burgers Just Became a Thing

There are 3 million chicken recipes on the internet. We're here to show you the good ones. Win, win.

Today: Thai larb salad meets burgers; we bring the beers.

What would you say if we told you to make a traditional Thai salad for dinner tonight? We're imagining you'd answer with something along the lines of, Sounds wonderful, but I just don't have the time? Then, we'd try again: How about a burger? That, you agree, sounds much simpler—but you've eaten more than your fair share of burgers this summer.

Hold on to your seatbelts: What about combining the two? These lettuce-wrapped chicken burgers take everything we love about Thai larb (the flavor from minced kaffir lime leaves, the fish sauce), and apply it to the weeknight-ease of throwing burgers on the grill—with a sweet-but-spicy peanut sauce to pour on top. This recipe makes six patties, so make some over the weekend, freeze them, and then, when you're ready for dinner, put some lettuce (and beer) on the table for a simple take on a South Asian staple:

Larb Burgers

Makes 6 Burgers

For the larb burgers:

1 shallot, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
8 kaffir lime leaves, sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
One 1-inch piece ginger or galangal
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 bunch green leaf lettuce

For the peanut sauce:

7 ounces coconut milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon chile paste
2 teaspoons palm sugar simple syrup
1/3 cup water

Save (and print) the full recipe here.

Photo by Alpha Smoot

Is there an undiscovered Food52 chicken recipe you love? Send us a paragraph or two at [email protected] about why you love it, and it could be next week's Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.