Asian Ginger Pork Burgers are one of the most flavorful burgers you’ll ever taste! Fresh ginger, garlic, scallions and a touch of heat make this easy burger unforgettable!
There used to be a commercial that began with the age-old question, “What are you hungry for when you don’t know what you’re hungry for?” And what was the answer? “Something on a crisp Ritz Cracker!” My response to that: Maybe, but probably not. Sorry, Ritz Cracker. Because those days I’m not sure what I want are the days I’d rather have a burger. But, in similar fashion to that commercial, many burgers end up all about the toppings. A well-designed burger should be complimented by the toppings, not hidden by them.
But in this case of this Ginger Pork Burger, the burger is definitely the main event. Don’t get me wrong, I still need the toppings, but, truly (!) for this burger, I’d still be thrilled without them. A crispy-edged pork burger, tender, flavored with fresh ginger, garlic, and cilantro. A bit of spicy in the background. Flavor similar to the filling of your favorite pork dumpling.
My recipe is adapted from this one from Epicurious, but I added a healthy dose of fresh ginger. Minced, along with garlic, and complimented by a nice hit of cilantro, these are the flavors that stand out in this burger. Topped with a sweet and spicy slaw and some bread-and-butter pickles, this burger is truly about the burger. One taste and you’ll believe – it’s what you’re hungry for and you know it.
So, make the burger itself the main event! Try this Uber-tasty Asian-Style Ginger Pork Burger!
Enjoy!
Looking for other burgers or sandwiches? Don’t miss these:
Super-Tasty Shrimp Burger
Turkey Burger with Special Sauce
Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork Sandwich
PIN Ginger Pork Burger ->
How to Make Asian-Style Pork Burgers ->
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Some things you might need to make these burgers:
Mandolin – I’ve had this SwissMar Borner Mandolin for several years – totally love it!
Microplane Zester– Top-ratedHandheld zester perfect for mincing the ginger and garlic in this recipe!
Cast-iron Skillet – You can’t beat a Lodge 10-inch skillet – for a lifetime pan with ease of use at a great price!
Mixing Bowl – You know how I love OXO products, and this set is easy to use, handle, and clean!
Glass Measuring Cup – my Pyrex Glass Measuring cups are indispensable!
Measuring Spoons – This set is the one I want!
Kitchen Thermometer – I have a Thermapen MK4 (#notanaffiliate) and love it – I don’t know how I cooked without it before! Totally worth the price.
Make the Sauce: Mayo, Sriracha, sugar, salt, rice vinegar Hoisin, sriracha, sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro, scallion, ginger Make Ginger Pork Patties Form Patties Cook Patties 6-8 min Make the Slaw!
GINGER PORK BURGER RECIPE STEPS
This recipe involves just 3 easy steps, each of which are just mixing all the ingredients together. You can make each of the parts ahead of time and refrigerate up to 8 hours before cooking the burgers.
Mix the Sauce: Just mix all the ingredients together. I do this in a small, Pyrex measuring cup, that way it’s easy to portion the mayo, add the seasonings, then remove all the dressing but 1/4 cup, because you’ll want to save that amount for dressing the sandwiches.
Make the Slaw: You can buy pre-made slaw mix, or you can shred your own. I like to use my Mandolin for this, because it does the job quickly and is simpler to clean than my Food Processor. You’ll just shred 4 cups of cabbage, or around half of a small cabbage.Then shred a small or medium carrot, and thin-slice the green onions.
Make the Burgers: Just toss everything into a bowl (except for the buns!), mix, and you’re ready to cook! Or separate with parchment and refrigerate until it’s time to cook.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE:
Can I use ground chicken or turkey, or even beef for this recipe? I have only used pork, because there’s something about it that compliments the seasonings so well, especially the nice hit of ginger. I have not tried the other meats, but beef would have similar fat content to pork, but I feel the flavors would be great with ground chicken. You may need some extra oil in the skillet if you are using ground chicken, though.
What if I don’t have (or don’t like) Sriracha? If you don’t have Sriracha, you can go ahead and substitute Thai Chili Paste (Sambal Oolek), or Sweet Chili Sauce. If you do use Sweet Chili Sauce, you may not need the Hoisin, which is added for a touch of sweetness.
Is there a substitute for Fish Sauce? If you don’t have Fish Sauce, you might want to add another half tsp salt, or 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce. Fish sauce adds a depth of flavor that’s hard to get otherwise, it’s kind of like an Asian “Worcestershire” – lots of flavor, hard to replicate.
I like a thicker burger, can I make larger ones? If you like a bigger burger, you can make 3 large burgers instead of 4 burgers this recipe calls for. Also, you will need to cook them longer, maybe 7-9 minutes. Always check with pork that you cook to 160F. You may also have a bit of extra sauce, but is there really a downside to that?
Asian Style Pork Burgers
Super-flavorful and easy-to-make, these pork burgers are flavored with fresh ginger, garlic, and sesame oil, with a touch of spicy in the mix! So delicious!
Top with some creamy, spicy slaw and bread-and-butter pickles, and you’re in for a treat!
Inspired by and adapted from an Epicurious recipe, to which I added fresh ginger and Hoisin, both of which amp up the flavor.
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 8 min
- Total Time: 45-55 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Burgers
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: International
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
- 1/2 c (120ml) Mayo (I like Kewpie or Hellman’s Brand)
- 1 T (15ml) Rice Vinegar (Seasoned preferred)
- 1 T (15ml) Sriracha Sauce
- 2 t (8g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 t Kosher Salt
For the Slaw:
- 4 c (fill a 1 qt or 1 liter bowl) Slaw Mix or Thin-sliced cabbage
- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded or grated
- 4 Green Onions, white and light green only) thin-sliced
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
For the Burgers:
- 1 lb Ground Pork
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 2 tsp minced, fresh Ginger, from 1″ knob
- 1 tsp (5ml) Sriracha Sauce
- 1 tsp (5 ml) Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp (5ml) Hoisin Sauce
- 1/2 tsp (3ml) Fish Sauce
- 1/4 c (small handful) chopped Cilantro leaves
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 4 Burger Buns (I recommend Brioche-style buns, but you can substitute others)
Instructions
Make the Dressing
- Mix all the ingredients together. I like to do this in a glass measuring cup, because it’s easy to measure the mayo, then just spoon all the other ingredients in and stir. It’s then easy to scoop out what you’ll need for the slaw, leaving enough for your sandwiches.
- Set aside.
Make the Slaw:
- If you’re not using pre-packaged “slaw mix”: Use a mandolin, sharp knife, or food processor to thin-slice the cabbage. Place it in a bowl, and add grated carrot, and sliced green onion.
- Using the dressing you made, top the cabbage mixture with all but 1/4 cup (60ml) of the dressing, which you need to reserve as a sandwich spread. Stir it in with the veggies, then sprinkle the 1/2 tsp salt and stir again. Refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
Make the Burgers:
- In a large bowl, place the ground pork. Add the minced garlic, minced fresh ginger, Sriracha sauce, Sesame oil, hoisin sauce, Fish sauce, cilantro leaves and salt. Using your hands (or a wooden spoon if you prefer), gently combine all the ingredients together.
- Form 4 roughly equal sized patties. I like to do this by forming 4 “balls” of meat, then pressing down on each portion. You want to make sure the burgers are kind of firmly together, so they don’t fall apart while cooking.
- Heat a heavy skillet (Cast-iron prefered) over Medium to Medium-High heat until hot, and drizzle about 1 tsp vegetable or olive oil. Set the heat at Medium, and cook the patties 6-8 minutes until done. Internal temp should be 160F.
- Slather buns with remaining sauce. Add the pork patties and top with slaw and sweet pickles if you like.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 Recipe
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A great sandwich and the changes you made from the Epicurious recipe made the sandwich so much better. I work a lot with recipes and recognize this as one of my top 6 sandwich recipes. Reduced the salt in the dressing to 1/2 teaspoon, used Jimmy Dean regular sausage but omitted the salt (the burger was delicious), and used Artesano brioche buns. Your choice of using the brioche bun took the recipe over the top. Thank you for your work and talent to make this recipe a winner.
★★★★★
Great recipe and your choice of brioche buns took the sandwich over the top. Made the recipe as written (except omitted the pickle) but found that the dressing was way too salty. This recipe is a keeper will cut the salt down to 1/2 teaspoon. Thank you for you adaption of this recipe.
This recipe is fantastic. Like you take your first bite each person says, “Oh! THAT’S GOOD!”
★★★★★
Susan – Thanks so much! That’s definitely the response I hope for! 😉 Totally appreciate you stopping by to add a review and comment!
I followed the recipe exactly, except for the fish sauce and Cabbage ( only cause I didn’t have any). So I did have lettuce carrots and radishes. I love Asian style pork burgers and these fit the bill. They were delicious especially with the dressing slathered on the buns.
Thanx for a great recipe
★★★★★
Thanks, Mary! I appreciate you stopping by to comment and an so glad you loved these burgers! And like you, I love a good dressing! So glad you do, too! I love your substitutions for the cabbage, too! ☺️
Nothing irks me more than people rating a recipe before actually trying it. Many recipes look good but aren’t. Please folks….try it before rating! Post a review that speaks to what you liked, didn’t like, etc….not about how you think it will taste or be. Reviews should help others who haven’t yet made a recipe, in my opinion. Let me be the first to actually rate this recipe. In a word – YUM! Don’t be afraid of the fish sauce (the smell is truly atrocious but the flavor really brings it together with the other ingredients). I take it easy on the sriracha only because my daughter is super sensitive to heat but even so, these are awesome! Sesame seed buns also work well in this recipe and if you don’t have fresh ginger, you can sub ground dried ginger (half the amount).
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Angie! I appreciate so much you reviewing this recipe and so glad you loved it like we do! I agree about the fish sauce – it’s one of those ingredients that adds so much but might be off-putting to some. Also, a good point on the fresh vs dried ginger – a good point! ☺️
It’s too late for lunch and too early for dinner but you have certainly made me hunger. Flavor similar to the filling of your favorite pork dumpling got to me…your burger sounds great..
Thanks, Karen! Hope you get the chance to make it!
These ginger pork burgers look so scrumptious! Love the addition of the coleslaw for that added crunch!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Michelle! This is a great burger for it’s party of textures and flavors! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I was looking for a recipe that could mimic a dish that I just had at Disney. This did the trick! Disney’s had crispy pork belly on it, I used crispy slab bacon. Instead of pickles, I used cucumber for an extra crunch. Otherwise, I used your recipe exactly as you wrote it. This was a big hit with all of my family. Thank you!
★★★★★
Absolutely pinned for later !
★★★★★
Thanks, Davorka! Hope you get the chance to make this flavorful burger!
I feel like this is the burger for me. Pork is great with ginger and your slaw is just perfect to match. Your burger looks beautiful and so satisfying. My husband, who is a hamburger mania, always tells me that building a burger is like an art. You proved it.
★★★★★
Oh, Holly, what a lovely and kind comment! I agree, a burger is a work of art. Glad you like this one, and the slaw recipe as well. I adapted my slaw recipe from Epicurious, which has such lovely recipes! Hope you get the chance to try this burger, and i agree, ginger + pork = a perfect match!
These burgers look amazing, Laura! Totally my kind of flavors. Your buns are also perfection! We will be making this one soon!
★★★★★
Thanks, Katherine! So glad you’re going to try these – they are so flavorful, I think you’ll love them! Thanks for dropping by and for your kind words!
Haha – I’m always (!!) in the mood for a burger, too. If I could pick my favorite meal, burgers would be in the running. This is a fun twist on the classic burger, and the flavors sound so bold and delicious! This is great for indoors when the grill is covered in snow – although I have to admit that I’m intrigued by adding the grilled flavor to these burgers, too!
★★★★★
I agree, David! I think grilling would add another layer here. Although for the grill grate, you may want to add a binder, like an egg, to the mixture. I cooked mine in a castiron because Im not a good winter griller. Thanks for your kind words!
We rarely enjoy burgers, so I’m not an expert at all, but this looks fantastic. Succulent burger cooked to perfection, homemade coleslaw, sweet pickles, plus a brioche bun? I’m in! You’re so right that sometimes people get carried away with lots of toppings, but minimalistic is often the best option. And you did an excellent job here!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Ben! I agree – the main ingredient needs to shine!