Satay sauce and a ramen chicken burger

Spicy peanut sauce perfect for any kind of grilled chicken – as well as for a ramen burger

Wow, I have to say that I’m truly overwhelmed with the feedback I get from all you guys! It took me exactly 249 days to somehow interest 2000 people on Instagram into what I’m doing here. When I started this little site I would have never expected such a response. This is truly a milestone for me!!!

I honestly want to thank all the people that have supported me on this incredibly journey! Big shout out to Fiya (@feedingthefiya) and Jordan (@jzeats) that keep inspiring and challenging me in my recipes! Thanks to Marianne (@homecookingdept), Marleen (@marleenvanes) and Lindsay (@pinchofyum) for pushing and professionalizing my food plating and shooting skills! In the last months I moved from my phone to a DSLR camera. So another big shout out to all the peeps that taught (and still teach) me how to use a real camera – inside the kitchen as well as outside in the streets of Amsterdam! But especially thank you to all the brave people that are willing to test my weird creations!

I have no intentions to stop, so let’s carry on with this crazy food adventure!

Weird celebrations call for especially weird creations! I know you guys all love a good burger, so there was no way around it to make this my centerpiece for this milestone! An ordinary burger obviously wouldn’t do… Fellow foodie Jordan (facebook/jzeats) recently published a recipe for a ramen-taco and I thought I’d take this as a starting point for burger with a ramen bun.

When I moved to the Netherlands I fell in love with peanut butter! For someone in the US this might sound weird as peanut butter is so readily available – unfortunately it isn’t in Germany where I grew up… So when I moved to NL I couldn’t get enough of it! The warm thick spicy and sweet Asian peanut sauce you can get here is even better! The sauce is called satay or saté and is a thick creamy sauce made from ground peanuts, red pepper and various spices. It goes well with every kind of grilled chicken, pork, duck, veggies… well, basically everything to be honest!

Over the years I tried so many variations of peanut sauce and perfected my own little version. So a satay ramen burger seemed to be the perfect combination to celebrate my 2000 follower milestone!

Sweet and spicy satay peanut sauce

(For 1 small bowl of peanut sauce – enough for 6 people)

Ingredients

• 2,5cm ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 200g chunky peanut butter, take the chunky variety
• 200ml coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste (or 1 red pepper)
• 2 tablespoons ketjap manis (if you can’t find it, substitute with 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon brown sugar)
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice

Make some tasty tasty peanut sauce!

Peel and mince the ginger, as well as the garlic.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in small pan pot.

Stir well to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.

Use the sauce right away, store for up to 3 days in the fridge or freeze in a zip-lock bag!

The chicken ramen burger itself

To make a ramen burger you’ll need one or more serving rings to make the buns hold their shape. You can also use a big round cookie cutter or something even more inventive. I transformed an old small pineapple tin into a serving ring by removing the lid and bottom! Hacked serving ring FOR FREE!

(makes 2 ramen chicken burgers)

Ingredients

• 1 package of ramen (noodles + soup flavoring sachet), I use NongShim as they simply have the best texture and flavour!
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 egg white
• 300g chicken thighs, without bones but leave some of the fat on for flavor
• 1/4 cucumber
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• A few springs coriander
• 2 big tablespoons of satay sauce (see recipe above)
• Some lettuce leaves

Make your ramen noodle buns

Bring 500ml water to a boil, add the dry ramen noodle block and half of the soup flavoring sachet. Cook according to the instructions but reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes.

Drain and let cool for 5 minutes. Add the egg yolk to the slightly cooled noodles and mix well.

Heat a frying pan to medium high heat. Coat the inside of a serving ring with oil, put the ring into the pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil into the middle of the ring, followed by 1/4 of the eggy ramen noodles. Press down the noodles to compact and take the shape of the ring. Bake for 3 minutes.

Flip the serving ring with the half cooked ramen noodle to the other side. If the ring was oiled well the ramen bun should slide easily within the serving ring. If not, use a spoon to make sure the uncooked side of the ramen bun makes contact with the hot pan. Cook for another 3 minutes.

Repeat with the other 3 ramen buns. Keep them warm till used.

Make 2 chicken burgers

Very finely chop your chicken thigh fillets and put in a bowl. Add the egg white, the second half of the ramen soup seasoning packet, season with pepper and mix very well. Form into 2 burgers the same size as your ramen buns. TIP: You can use a serving ring for forming and baking the burgers exactly the same way you did with the ramen buns!

Bake the burgers in a frying pan with some oil on medium high heat for about 5 minute per side. Be gentle when flipping to make sure the burgers doesn’t fall apart.

Assemble your awesome ramen burger

Cut the cucumber into matchsticks. In a small bowl, combine cucumber with rice vinegar, some coriander leaves and a pinch of sugar and salt. Mix well. This is your cucumber relish.

Stack up the burgers starting with a ramen bun, some lettuce, the chicken burger, a big tablespoon of the satay sauce, a big tablespoon of the cucumber relish, and finally top with another ramen bun. You may want to pin your burger down with a toothpick.

Get some napkins and dig into your awesome ramen burger creation!

Let me know in the comments what you think of the recipe! Do you like peanut sauce or is this something that’s way out of your comfort zone? Ever made ramen into a taco or burger yourself? Send me some pics, I’m really curious! And above else, all your comments are welcome, as always!