Zucchini Ramen Veggie Burger with Grilled Romaine

Ramen Burger: Jenny Style

When I heard about the Ramen Burger I totally wanted to try it, but I'm not going to New York just for a burger, or waiting in line, and I don't even eat meat or soy, so the real deal was out. I have perfected the soy-free, slow carb veggie burger (recipe coming soon), so I needed to tackle the ramen and the teriyaki sauce. This site was really helpful and gave me some ideas. On the way to the grocery store last night to buy the ramen, feeling a little guilty about the crap carbs and empty calories in the ramen and thought "why not zucchini noodles instead?" So I picked up some locally grown zukes and went home to find a suitable teriyaki sauce recipe. I used this Terikayi Sauce Recipe as a starting point. I had some romaine in the fridge, so grilled romaine seemed like the perfect side. Let's get to gettin!



First take your zucchinis and clean em off! I like to wash them up and down with antibacterial soap b/c it's thorough and kinda fun...

I guess pickins are slim when you go to the grocery store at 10pm. These were the best looking zucchinis in the bin. This reminds me of a time when I was at a farm stand in the country and there was a sign that said "zookinis" and I got so excited and thought it was some exotic new fruit I'd never heard of. So I asked the farmer "What's a zook... ohhh. Zucchini." He looked at me like I was a dumbass. And I felt let down :(

Anyway, peel and make them into noodles. If you have a mandoline that will do that, use it! My mandoline is ghetto and just slices. I saw this awesome Lazy Girl's Zucchini Spaghetti and tried to use that, but unfortunately my box grater has a big rubber base that made it hard to make long and luscious noodles.

Boo.

So I made thin slices on the mandoline, then cut those into ribbons (using a slicing motion with the tip of the knife, not like a downward chopping motion).

AND I DIDN'T CUT MYSELF! I may or may not have lost a small part of my finger making zucchini and eggplant lasagna last week (recipe soon? maybe?) So take your noodles and put them in a strainer and salt well. Put a bowl under the strainer to catch all the water that hopefully leaches out. Occasionally shake it around, squeeze it a little, get that water out! The noodles should shrink down and become flexible. This will take a half hour, maybe more.

Before...

After - Shrinky Dink Zucchini

While that goes down, make the terikayi sauce! Consistency and taste are both important, so play with it a little.

I like my teriyaki like I like my men... saucy, spicy, and steaming hot ;)

Now prep your lettuce! Wash a head of romaine, remove any icky parts, then split down the middle. Leave the icky hard white part on, it holds it together and is good for flipping. Mist with some EVOO, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.

Look who remembered to use the lettuce knife!

Wait! Back up, first thing, turn on your grill or burner or whatever you're using. You want it really hot! I used a little old George Foreman Grill. When it's super hot, put it cut side down on the grate, then spritz the back with more EVOO and season it (if you're using an indoor grill... maybe don't spray oil onto an open flame...) I really like my olive oil spritzer. Yes it takes a little work to pump it up, and it's a pain to clean and can get clogged easily, but canned cooking spray has soy in it, and it leaves a sticky residue. So invest in an oil sprayer!

Looks like a fancy lady toy, BUT....

It just squirts healthy, yummy oil!

Don't worry that it doesn't all fit, you're not gonna eat that end anyway, and it stays cool to the touch for easy handling. And maybe you have a grown up sized grill and won't have this problem :)

Let that grill until desired level of doneness. Turn as needed.

Yum! So simple, delicious, and not bad for you

Now getting back to the ramen burger, take your zuke noods and squeeze out as much water as possible. Then add a beaten egg and mix it up with your hands. Then pack it into two small, oiled ramekins and pop it in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes.

Now you are gonna need a burger. I make my own veggie burgers, so I pulled one from the freezer (red bean and mushroom with jalapeno and roasted corn - wasn't sure if that southwest flavor would play nice with the teriyaki, but Spoiler Alert! it totally was awesome and they were culinary bffs!)

Fresh from the freezer

I thawed it a little in the microwave, then browned and finished in a hot skillet. The frozen burgers don't hold up as well in the Foreman (more crumbling potential). It would probably work on a conventional grill (which I don't have) or in the oven, but I like it well done and crisp.

Now we get to the tricky part and things start to literally fall apart. I wanted to fry the ramen buns in some canola oil. All seemed well it slid out of the ramekin into my hand perfectly shaped and together, but it was very slick and slipped out of my hand into the oil too fast. Which is kinda dangerous, and it fell apart a little. So I kinda pushed the pieces back with a turner, then took the other ramekin and put it in the freezer. And that one turned out a lot better. I think if I did this again I would bake the zucchini egg mix in the ramekins, then finish them off in a skillet, or under the broiler. Maybe add a tiny bit of chickpea flour if necessary, but not too much because we want noodles, not a fritter.

When it's all done, plate it up, put some teriyaki sauce and green onion on the burger, and dig in... with a knife and fork.

Open faced

It didn't hold up well, and it didn't look pretty, but it was pretty tasty. The edges of the bun that got a little crispy were the best, and I just picked around the soggier middle. Next time I would make it thinner, I think that could take care of that. The best part was the actual burger. The combination of burger, teriyaki, and green onion was delicious. The lettuce was great too, but it got cold quick.

All together now!

How do food bloggers do it? I know this is my first real post, but it took forever to make the burgers, stopping to take photos along the way, and even longer to make this post. Maybe I will get better. Or lazier. Well, you made it to the end. Have my special soy-free teriyaki recipe:

Jenny's Soy-Free Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1.5 tablespoons minced garlic (I used jarred)
1/2 teaspoon dried ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
Crushed red pepper flakes and ground black pepper to taste

Get this all mixed up in a small saucepan on a low/med heat until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust as necessary. I found that it was really sweet while cooking, so I added more vinegar, but then it was a little too tart after sitting, so I had to add some sugar. Just keep that in mind. Once everything is dissolved, mix up about a tablespoon of cornstarch in a little cold water (smooth, no chunks!), then add this to the sauce. Stir constantly with a whisk and bring to a boil. Then remove from heat and let cool. It was pretty good, the only thing I would change is maybe subbing the sugars for a little molasses and some stevia. Make it a little lower in carbs and cals... I see a stir fry in my future...

Until next time!
JDB