If you want a nice and tasty burger but don’t have the usual ingredients with you, or you want to try something new and a little bit on the healthier side, you could try out this Eggplant Burger (Talong Burger) recipe!
This is easy to make, and can be done even by beginners! Continue to read below and see some tips and some trivia about this delicious and indulging eggplant burger.
What is Eggplant Burger?
A burger is usually a sandwich that is made of ground meat, mixed with a number of other ingredients which is then formed into a patty. This can be cooked through frying, grilling, smoked, or even broiled.
But in this case, we make a twist out of the usual burgers and make a vegetable patty instead of a meat patty–the eggplant burger.
This is a good substitute especially if you want a burger that’s healthier, or you’re trying to veer away from meat.
We will also be sharing with you how to whip up an easy mushroom gravy to come up with a yummy burger steak.
Eggplant Health Benefits
There’s no doubt that eggplants bring a lot of flavor in the dishes that come with this food, and another good thing about it is that it gives a lot of health benefits! We are not going to dive deep into this, but some of the notable benefits are:
- It gives a good amount of vitamins and minerals
- It helps promote metabolism and better digestion
- It improves health of the heart
- It helps prevents cancer
- It improves bone health
Ingredients You’ll Need
Eggplant
Eggplants will be our main ingredient for this recipe. You can use medium-sized locally grown eggplants or talong.
Mushrooms
We will be making a mushroom gravy for this recipe and for simplicity, I suggest you use canned button mushrooms for this.
Beef Broth
The beef broth adds more ‘meaty’ taste to the sauce, so it is nice if you have it available with you. Alternative options can be through the use of broth cubes, and it could be any meat. Just use about half of it and you’re good to go.
If you want to make this recipe even more vegetarian-friendly, you can skip the use of the broths and use water instead.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like onion, garlic, egg, crackers, flour, butter, salt, black pepper, and cooking oil. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Cooking Pan (Kawali)- You will need a regular kawali or a deep cooking pan to cook this dish. We will be using it several times during the process like cooking the eggplant, cooking the burgers, and cooking the sauce.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Make Eggplant Burger
It seems like there’s a whole lot of things to do, but to start with preparing an eggplant burger, it is easier to look at if we breakdown the whole procedure in the processes you like to achieve.
First, we need to boil the eggplants until they are tender enough. Second, we make the patties by mixing all of the ingredients needed. Third, while we’re waiting for the patties to be chilled, you can now start by preparing the sauce, which is a pretty straightforward task. And last, we finally fry the patties over medium heat until they’re golden brown.
That’s about all that you need to think about. Easy!
In case you want to eat them as burger steaks, we will also share how to make a yummy mushroom gravy to pair with. Find it in the recipe below.
Cooking Tips
- Plan ahead or do ahead of the time! If you want to achieve a better quality of the eggplant burger, it is important to plan ahead and not rush things. This recipe requires a bit of time because you need to chill the eggplant patties once you’ve made it. It makes the eggplants a bit crispy and prevents it from breaking down easily.
- Be sure to watch the heat when frying the eggplant patties. These veggies can be easily overcooked on the outside so you must keep the heat on low to medium. High heat tends to burn the outside super fast and will leave you with an undercooked insides of the patty.
- Season all you want. If you want to add more flavor to the patties, you can add any seasoning of your choice. This burger is nice when you have a little spice on it, so it is recommended that you add in a couple of those chili pepper powders when mixing the patties, to have a nice kick off the taste.
How to Serve Eggplant Burger
Eggplant burger is best served warm during lunch, dinner, or snack. If you are preparing a burger steak, pair it with our mushroom gravy and freshly cooked white rice. If you are preparing a burger sandwich, you can make these with burger buns or pandesal and fill it with vegetables, cheese, and a dressing.
How to Store and Reheat Eggplant Burger
If you have leftovers, store this in a clean food container with lid. You can refrigerate this and is best consumed within 3 days. If you want to store this longer, freeze the patties.
To reheat (thaw first if frozen), use a microwave oven or in the stove using low to medium heat.
Other Vegetable Recipes
- Homemade Mushroom Burger Recipe
- Tortang Talong (Pinoy Eggplant Omelette) Recipe
- Breaded Tokwa Nuggets Recipe
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Eggplant Burger/ Burger Steak Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pan
Ingredients
Burger Ingredients
- 3 pcs medium-sized eggplant (talong)
- 1 pc onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pc egg
- 2 packs crackers (Skyflakes or Magic), crushed
- 2 cups water
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 tbsp cooking oil, for frying
Burger Steak Gravy Ingredients
- 100 g mushrooms, sliced
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp butter, (or margarine)
- 1 tsp oyster sauce, (optional)
- ½ cup beef broth, (or water)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Burger Procedure
- In a cooking pan, pour-in water and bring to a boil.
- Add-in the eggplants. Simmer until tender and lightly browned. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- In a flat workspace, chop the eggplants into finer pieces.
- Transfer to a bowl and then add-in the chopped onion, minced garlic, crushed crackers, all-purpose flour, and season with salt and pepper. Then slowly pour-in the egg. Mix until well-incorporated.
- In a tray greased with oil, scoop a part of the mixture (⅓ cup) and then flatten it, forming a patty. Repeat this step for the rest of the mixture and place about an inch apart.
- Place in the refrigerator. Chill for 1 to 2 hours.
- In a cooking pan, pour-in and heat oil over low heat.
- Add-in the eggplant patties. Cook until all sides are golden brown.
- Transfer to a serving plate or serving tray. Serve with the sauce and enjoy!
Burger Steak Gravy Procedure
- In a cooking pan, add-in butter over low to medium heat.
- Add-in the sliced mushrooms. Cook until slightly soft.
- Add-in ¼ cup of the beef broth, oyster sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Dilute the all-purpose flour in the other ¼ cup of beef broth, and then pour into the pan. Cook while stirring continuously, until it thickens.
- Transfer to a small serving bowl. Serve with the burger and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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