I grew up with the boisterous cacophony of a large Chinese family squeezed around a dinner table stretched to its limits. When my maternal grandparents and aunt were still alive, we gathered together for these feasts at least a dozen times a year–sometimes at one of our homes, other times in a Chinese restaurant where it seemed like our collective family voice was competing for dominance over all the other voices at neighboring family tables. I miss those days, more so than ever over the last 15 months because I haven’t been able to share a meal with my extended family. It’s only recently that our immediate family got together to celebrate Mother’s Day without sitting 6 feet apart. We sat there leisurely enjoying each other’s company, our dogs Violet and Nebby roaming under the table for scraps and attention, periodically marveling at the newness of it all, this unmasked freedom.

The social table was something we all took for granted until the pandemic forced us into isolation. If you were lucky, your “bubble” consisted of more than 4 people, For me, it was mainly me and my mom (a weekly lunch with my brother Sam the only exception) with occasional appearances by other masked family members for the better part of a year. We tried “Zoom dinners” with other family members a few times, with lackluster results. On my birthday, my friend Karen made me a delightful lunch which we enjoyed al fresco in her backyard, seated with our individual bento boxes two lounge chairs apart. I attended a handful of semi-masked, social distanced backyard parties at my friends’ home. It just wasn’t the same as sitting around a table, sharing food family style.

One of the things I missed most, aside from spending time with my extended family and friends, was the communal experience of eating Chinese hot pot–something we did at home quite a lot as a family years ago. In fact, one year we decided to forego the traditional Western Christmas buffet potluck dinner entirely in favor of hot pot, which we laid out on a very long table with 3 separate hot pot stations to accommodate 20+ people.

These days there’s no shortage of places to buy a variety of high quality precut meats and seafood, assorted vegetables and hot pot accoutrements to host your own hot pot feast at home. My hot pot loving cousin Ed is a big fan of H Mart and 99 Ranch. Let me tell you, the man knows how to throw down when it comes to indulgence! Grandma never would’ve imagined cooking whole baby lobster tails in a hot pot, much less even consider spending the money to purchase them.

Back in the day, when Grandma was in her prime, hot pot was an entirely different affair. She would devote a full day to hand-prepping an assortment of meats, seafood, and vegetables, including various offals like pork kidney and liver (all procured in Chinatown of course), expertly wielding a cleaver to slice every piece to her exacting standards. By the time we set the table, there were multiple plates of 12-15 different ingredients–from glistening raw shrimp and cod to thin slices of well-marbled beef and big bowls of cabbage and spinach– not to mention freshly made wontons to cook off as a finale to the meal. The care and attention to detail it took to produce it made our family hot pot an event, something that really brought us all together. What made it truly communal was all of us dipping our individual handled wire baskets into the bubbling broth simultaneously, loaded with our ingredient of choice, sometimes snatching up another’s “stray floater” with our chopsticks, playfully arguing over ownership. Hey if it migrates out of your basket it’s fair game! At the end, we’d toss the wontons in to cook in the broth, now enriched with a multitude of flavors. I’ve really missed this.

It’s still early in the “getting back to normal” stage of post-pandemic life. I have no idea when our entire extended family will come together again for a communal meal like hot pot. I know it certainly won’t be anything like what we had growing up. I don’t think any of us necessarily want to spent an entire day prepping, nor should we…not when there are a plethora of options not available to us 20 years ago. Sadly, Grandma is no longer around to enforce her standards.

Until we host the next family hot pot though, I will offer up a few recipe ideas for Memorial Day weekend. Wrapping up Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I’ve come up with a couple of simple and deliciously savory chicken burgers inspired by Mandy Lee of Lady and Pups. Her ingenious method of grinding up skin-on boneless chicken thighs to make crispy, juicy, flavorful “smash burgers” is the basis for my Teriyaki Chicken Smash Burger and Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Smash Burger, sandwiched in homemade potato burger bun and crusty banh mi roll respectively.

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Mandy’s method calls for cutting up the skin-on chicken thighs into small 1/2″ pieces, spreading them out in a single layer, then freezing the meat until firm before grinding it up in a food processor. For her burgers she seasoned the chicken simply with salt and pepper, then packed the ground meat into a ring mold to form a uniform shape before smashing it into a thin layer between parchment squares. As the patties cook the chicken skin crisps up like crackling, while the fat keeps the burger moist. The combination of crispy, crusty bits on the outside and juicy meat bursting with umami on the inside is downright irresistible.

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Ever the purist, Mandy’s version is a riff on the classic double cheese burger, down to the sliced American cheese, dressed with nothing more than mustard and mayo–no ketchup. My interpretations, however, venture off the beaten track, for a more Asian flavor profile. I first seasoned the ground meat with both fresh pressed garlic and garlic powder. For the teriyaki version, I added fresh grated ginger, onion powder, mirin, sea salt, pepper, and a touch of sesame oil. For the banh mi burger, I added a good dose of pureed lemongrass, fish sauce, a little sugar, onion powder, and pepper, shaping the patties into a elongated oval shape to better fit the roll.

I cooked both burgers in a hot well-oiled skillet on medium heat, flipping only once the edges turned golden brown and crispy, then pressed down on the surface to ensure the entire underside made contact with the cooking surface. To finish off the teriyaki burger, I glazed the surface with mixture of soy sauce, honey, ginger, and garlic before sandwiching it on a toasted potato bun slathered with Kewpie mayo, dijon mustard, Asian coleslaw, and seasoned nori. I served it with a side of furikake-flecked potato salad.

The lemongrass-scented burger, on the other hand, got a nice layering of shredded cabbage, cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon, Kewpie mayo, fresh mint, and sliced chili peppers. sandwiched inside a warm crusty banh mi roll. I hate cilantro so I omitted it from my burger.

If smashed chicken burgers aren’t your thing, you can always grill up some hot dogs (I chose Nathan’s) and turn them into Asian Dogs, by shaping the potato dough into hot dog buns, and layering in the Asian coleslaw and topping off with seasoned nori and a drizzle of Kewpie mayo (yes, I’m seriously in love with this stuff). Whichever option you choose, it’s a delicious way to close out AAPI Heritage Month.

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While Mandy made her patties on the thin side as they were intended for double cheeseburgers, I made my patties a little thicker since they were for single burgers. You can always use any store bought burger buns, like King’s Hawaiian, instead of baking your own. Although the recipe I used from King Arthur was super quick to make (especially in a food processor) and yielded wonderful results.

Teriyaki Chicken Smash Burger

Yield: 8 burgers

Burger Patties:

• 2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, skin-on, cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 3-4 cloves peeled garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• 2 t. garlic powder
• 2 t. sea salt
• 1 t. ground black pepper
• 2 T. grated fresh ginger
• 1 t. toasted sesame oil
• 1 T. mirin
• 2 t. onion powder

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1. Lay the chicken pieces out in a single layer on a lined sheet pan and freeze for about 30 mins. or until the meat is very firm.
2. Place the partially frozen chicken into a food processor and blitz until the meat is a semi-coarse ground.
3. Transfer the ground chicken into a mixing bowl and mix in the seasonings.
4. Place a 4″ ring mold (or clean tuna can with both ends removed) centered on a 5″ square of parchment or wax paper and spoon in ground chicken, pressing down with the back of the spoon to pack it in. Remove the ring mold, press another square of parchment on top, then gently flatten out to about 1/3″ thickness. Repeat the process with the rest of the chicken. Chill the patties for another 25-30 mins. before cooking.
5. To cook the patties, heat a large skillet with about 3 T. neutral cooking oil until smoking hot. Transfer 2-3 patties onto the skillet, then panfry on medium hight heat. Easiest way to do this is to invert the exposed meat onto the hot skillet, then carefully peel back the remaining parchment. Don’t flip the burgers until you can see the edges becoming lacy and golden brown. Press down on the surface after flipping to ensure the undersides have full contact with the heat.
6. Finish each burger with a generous glaze of teriyaki sauce (see below).

Teriyaki Sauce:

• 1 medium shallot, finely minced
• 1 T. butter
• 1 t. toasted sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 T. grated fresh ginger
• 1 c. low sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 c. honey
• 2 T. mirin
• 1 t. cornstarch (mixed with 1 t. water)

1. Melt butter and sesame oil in saucepan on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
2. Add the soy sauce, honey, and mirin. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture for 3 mins.
3. Stir in the cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce. Remove from the heat and strain sauce.

Asian Coleslaw:

• 1/2 head green cabbage, cored & finely shredded
• 1 large carrot, peeled & shredded
• 1 T. finely chopped pickled ginger
• 1 1/2 t. sea salt
• 1/2 t. ground black pepper
• 2 T. sugar
• 1/2 c. Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 t. toasted sesame oil
• 2 T. unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2 t. toasted sesame seeds
• furikake (as needed)

1. Toss together cabbage, carrot, and ginger in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together salt, pepper, sugar, mayo, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar, then toss into slaw to completely coat.
3. Toss in sesame seeds. Garnish with furikake.

Assembly:

• potato burger buns, split & toasted
• Kewpie mayo
• dijon mustard
• teriyaki chicken smash burger patty
• Asian coleslaw
• shredded seasoned nori

Again, this is a case where you can easily just use a good crusty store bought roll for the banh mi. However, if you want to try your hand at making them yourself, this recipe was fairly simple.

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Smash Burger

Yield: 8

Burger Patties:

• 2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, skin-on, cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 3-4 cloves peeled garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• 2 t. garlic powder
• 3 T. lemongrass puree
• 1 t. ground black pepper
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 2 T. fish sauce
• 1 t. sugar
• 2 t. onion powder

1. Lay the chicken pieces out in a single layer on a lined sheet pan and freeze for about 30 mins. or until the meat is very firm.
2. Place the partially frozen chicken into a food processor and blitz until the meat is a semi-coarse ground.
3. Transfer the ground chicken into a mixing bowl and mix in the seasonings.
4. Place a 4″ ring mold (or clean tuna can with both ends removed) centered on a 5″ square of parchment or wax paper and spoon in ground chicken, pressing down with the back of the spoon to pack it in. Remove the ring mold, press another square of parchment on top, then gently flatten out into an elongated oblong shape, about 1/3″ thickness. Repeat the process with the rest of the chicken. Chill the patties for another 25-30 mins. before cooking.
5. To cook the patties, heat a large skillet with about 3 T. neutral cooking oil until smoking hot. Transfer 2-3 patties onto the skillet, then panfry on medium hight heat. Easiest way to do this is to invert the exposed meat onto the hot skillet, then carefully peel back the remaining parchment. Don’t flip the burgers until you can see the edges becoming lacy and golden brown. Press down on the surface after flipping to ensure the undersides have full contact with the heat.

Pickled Carrots & Daikon:

• 1 c. shredded carrots (very fine julienne)
• 1 c. shredded daikon radish (very fine julienne)
• 2 T. unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2 T. sugar
• 1/4 t. sea salt

Toss everything together in a bowl and let stand for about 30 mins.

Assembly:

• banh mi rolls, split & warmed
• Kewpie mayo
• shredded green cabbage
• sliced cucumber
• lemongrass chicken smash burger patty
• pickled carrots & daikon
• fresh mint/cilantro
• sliced fresh jalapeño