Black Bean and Gojuchang Burger

Gojuchang and black bean burger. Coated in breadcrumbs and toasted sesame seeds. Melted mozzarella on top, mayo and hot sauce on the bun. Italian roll (or so it is called here).

A quick meal I keep going back to the last couple of months is fried aubergine rings and melted mozzarella sandwiches. It consists of nothing more than aubergines sliced into rings, well seasoned, fried, and then slices of good mozzarella melted on top of them and served in a Kaiser roll or poppy seed bun (bread cakes are here in Belgium referred to as “sandwiches”).

I think the reason I like it is that it has that feeling of having a burger, and so it seems completely appropriate to have fries too. Not that I am saying I need to pay too much attention to what is appropriate to eat with what, or really even look for much justification to have fries (I do live in Belgium for fuck sake), but it just seems to fit the occasion and doesn’t feel like such a blow out as having a burger, as I don’t really eat meat every day (And never have, even as a child growing up on a farm).

No caption needed.

Anyway, back to the point. I wanted to have this last week and it was my boyfriends turn to go do the shopping. I texted him what I needed, but he came back with a yellow courgette instead. A beautiful vegetable, but not really the shape or texture that I needed.

Why? Well, an altogether too narrower circumference for the job, and then remaining somewhat too stiff after frying for my liking. You really do need the flaccid gulk of a grilled aubergine for this. More post than pre-coital rigidity, and a much more mushier texture.

But regardless, I really wanted something “burgery”, but not a burger. Which is a weird thing to say. I am not a vegetarian or a vegan, but I do like a lot of the kind of meat substitute type things for burgers (I am really addicted to a pre-made falafel burger which is available from Carrefour here in Belgium).

Never miss a chance for fries.

Another side tangent, but I also don’t get hung up on calling them burgers. I feel there are far bigger concerns in life than referring to something not containing meat as a burger. And in any case, a burger refers to the process applied and not the meat. Any butcher worth his salt would tell you that (son of one here writing).

So. What I did have was a can of black beans in the cupboard. I wasn’t going to go to the store, as it was pissing it down with rain, so I have used what I had to make it. Which I guess is the most fun. You can obviously alter the below, and I expect you know way more about this than me. One important thing is that it is best not to get the mixture too wet. It will fall apart much more easily than a burger. I think the Gojuchang, soy and sesame work perfectly to flavour it. I had it with fries and a salad (chicory as with nearly every meal I eat). On the burger lettuce, mozzarella, hot sauce and mayo. Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1 can of black beans.
• Drained liquid from the can or 1 beaten egg.
• 1 tbsp of goujuchang (or to taste).
• 1 tbsp soy sauce.
• Garlic and celery salt.
• Chilli flakes.
• 1 tsp sesame oil.
• Seasoned breadcrumbs and toasted sesame seeds (enough to coat the burger).
• Burger buns (or whatever burger bread you want to use, I used bread rolls in Belgium referred to as Italian rolls).
• Mozzarella (or whatever cheese or cheese replacement you want to use).

Method

1. Spread the drained black beans out on a baking tray and pour over the soy sauce and sesame oil, before ensuring well dispersed. Season with celery and garlic salt too. You want to avoid having too much moisture in the burger mixture later on when you mix it, so baking them and adding the wet ingredients here helps you avoid that. The flavour stays on them, but the water evaporates. Bake for 10-15 minutes on high. You want them to dry a bit and the skins to burst and blister. Once done, allow them to cool.
2. In a bowl mix together the beans and the gojuchang with your hands and a fork. You can do this with a blender, but I think it is better if you don’t have a 100% consistent mixture. Some whole or only half crushed beans within the burger are actually quite nice and give a good variety of texture. If it is too dry, add some more soy. But do taste it as you don’t want to overdo the flavouring. Adjust for more seasoning if needed here.
3. Once mixed, mould into your desired burger shape with your hands. You cannot be worse at this than me.
4. Before coating the bean burger with the seasoned breadcrumbs and toasted sesame seeds, dip it in seasoned flour and then either beaten egg, or the liquid from the can if you are vegan. With black beans this is completely fine to eat and has quite a cool black colour. It also doesn’t irritate my stomach like the liquid from other canned beans does, if not properly rinsed off.
5. Place the burgers in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up, but preferably longer.
6. Heat a pan with oil. Once it is hot place your burgers in and cook on either side for around two minutes, depending on how thick they are. If you are having mozzarella or cheese on them, pop it on top of the burgers and pop a lid (or something to improvise one) on the pans so it melts.
7. They should be crispy on the outside. They won’t be the prettiest thing in the world. The colour, for instance, is a dark, gruelly, gnarly colour (inside the coating), but they are really fucking tasty.
8. Serve with fries and a salad and whatever you want in your burger. I had hot sauce and mayo.

You could identify me by my dental records here.

Enjoy!