Thai Pumpkin Black Rice Vegan Burgers {gluten free}

I love a good veggie burger, such as these mushroom and thyme quinoa burgers (which are my carnivorous husbands favourite), and the Asian carrot and quinoa burgers you’ll find in my ebook.

I’ve tended to stick to quinoa as a base for my burgers, however, when I came across a packet of black rice at my local supermarket, I immediately knew I wanted to make vegan burgers with the rice.

Perhaps predictably, my mind went down an Asian route, resulting a combination of roasted butternut pumpkin, fresh coriander and homemade Thai curry paste. But let me tell you, these are my new favourite veggie burgers, especially when topped with a good dollop of sweet chilli sauce and an Asian-style slaw, oh and maybe some sweet potato fries on the side!

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Thai Pumpkin Black Rice Vegan Burgers

Makes 10 to 12 burger patties depending on how big you like your burgers.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Author Jennifer Schmidt

Ingredients

• 1 cup [amazon_link id="B009CMCXAC" target="_blank" ]black rice[/amazon_link] rinsed under cold water and drained
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 400 g butternut pumpkin peeled and cut into cubes, 14 oz, butternut squash
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 g red < class="gr_ gr_90 gr-alert gr_gramm undefined Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="90" data-gr-id="90">onion </g> finely diced
• 1 bunch of coriander chopped, cilantro
• 3/4 cup [amazon_link id="B00GUGUET0" target="_blank" ]chickpea flour[/amazon_link] also called garbanzo bean or <g class="gr_ gr_81 gr-alert gr_spell undefined ContextualSpelling" id="81" data-gr-id="81">besan</g>
• salt to taste
• olive oil for frying
• THAI GREEN CURRY PASTE:
• 1 lemongrass stem finely chopped, white part only
• 1 tbs ginger minced or grated
• 6 coriander roots with stalks attached
• 1-2 long green chillis deseeded and roughly chopped, depending on how much heat you enjoy
• 6 leaves kaffir lime
• 2 shallots roughly chopped
• 1 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• tsp ½ of white peppercorns
• tsp ¼ of ground turmeric
• tsp ½ of salt
• 1 lime juice and zest

Instructions

1. Place the rice and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Leave to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 celsius (350 <g class="gr_ gr_77 gr-alert gr_spell undefined ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="77" data-gr-id="77">fahrenheit</g>) and toss the pumpkin in the olive oil. Cook for 25 minutes or until soft and lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
3. While the rice and pumpkin are cooking make the curry paste. Toast coriander and cumin seeds with the pepper in a wok or frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Allow to cool slightly. Add to a [amazon_link id="B007P205QU" target="_blank" ]food processor[/amazon_link] along with the remaining ingredients and process until a paste is formed.
4. Once the pumpkin has cooled add to a large bowl and roughly mash with a [amazon_link id="B0045EPNBI" target="_blank" ]potato masher[/amazon_link]. Add the rice and the remaining ingredients, including the curry paste and mix well. Check the seasoning and adjust as necessary. Form into burger patties and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cooking (I find this helps keep the burger together). Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the oil and cook until lightly charred (about 4 to 5 minutes) before flipping and cooking on the other side. Serve immediately with your favourite toppings.

Recipe Notes

You may find that the burgers hold together well without the flour. If so, feel free to skip the flour.

My favourite way to enjoy the burgers is to serve them in toasted sourdough topped with sweet chili sauce and an <g class="gr_ gr_80 gr-alert gr_spell undefined ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="80" data-gr-id="80">Asian style</g> slaw.