Thai Tuna Burger, Papaya Salsa
We’re mixing and matching traditional Thai flavors in our recipes for Thai Tuna Burger, Papaya Salsa. Green Papaya Salad, or som tum, is a traditional dish made of unripe (green) papaya, chili peppers, lime juice, and cilantro. We’re throwing all that on top of our hand-formed tuna burgers, except we’re using juicy, ripe, sweet papayas. Have the napkins ready – you’re going to need them!
Thai Tuna Burger, Papaya Salsa
Our recipe for Thai Tuna Burger, Papaya Salsa uses juicy, ripe, and sweet papayas to balance the zing of chili peppers and the bite of red onion and cilantro. Have the napkins ready – you’re going to need them!
Serving size: 1 burger, Makes 10 servings
Ingredients
| FOR THE SALSA |
| 8 serrano chili peppers |
| 6 cups seeded, chopped papaya |
| 2 tablespoons lime juice |
| 1/4 chopped cilantro |
| 1/2 cup diced red onion |
| FOR THE BURGERS |
| 2 1/4 pounds fresh yellow fin tuna steak |
| 1 ounce fresh lemongrass |
| 1/2 teaspoon salt |
| 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs |
| 1/2 cup freshly grated ginger |
| 1/2 cup chopped basil |
| 1/2 cup chopped cilantro |
| FOR ASSEMBLY |
| 10 whole wheat hamburger buns |
Instructions
- Grill chile peppers for ~4 minutes or until charred on all sides. Place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove skin from peppers, halve, remove seeds, and dice remaining flesh.
- Transfer diced peppers to a bowl and add papaya, lime juice, cilantro, and red onion. Toss to combine.
- Cut tuna into ½-inch pieces. Chef’s Note: Use sushi grade tuna if serving burgers rare (or anything less than 155°F).
- Trim ends from lemongrass and roughly chop.
- Combine salt, breadcrumbs, lemongrass, and ginger in a food processor. Pulse until fine. Add tuna, basil, and cilantro. Pulse just until tuna is coarsely chopped (do not over-blend). Form into 4-ounce patties.
- Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray and sear burgers over medium-high heat (~2 minutes on each side) until an internal temperature of 155°F is reached.
- Place cooked burger on bottom bun, top with ¼ cup papaya salsa, top with bun.
Nutrition info per 1 burger: 290 calories, 4 gm fat, 1 gm saturated fat, 400 mg sodium, 30 gm carbs, 6 gm sugar, 3 gm fiber, 32 gm protein
For more seafood burgers, check out our recipes for Salmon Burger, Wasabi Mayonnaise and Arctic Char Burger, Mango Avocado Relish. Stay tuned and we'll have one more summer seafood burger recipe on deck next week!
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