6 servings
PREP TIME
10 minutes
COOKING TIME
8 minutes
TOTAL TIME
18 minutes
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium egg
1 bird’s-eye chile, seeded and chopped
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly groundblack pepper
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs, plus 2 cups for dredging
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped scallions
vegetable oil, for shallow frying
12 potato slider buns
Pickled Cabbage Slaw, for serving
These two-bite wonders hail directly from Alexander’s history in South Carolina and Gullah cuisine. The Lowcountry Gullah islands offer a legacy of Africa and the Caribbean on the doorstep of the American South, and their culinary and social richness can’t be captured in any one thing. Which is why instead of trying that, we take inspiration from their cuisine and fly off to Asia.
Place 3/4 pound of the shrimp in a food processor. Add the celery, egg, chile, soy sauce, salt, and pepper and pulse until there is a mix of finely minced and coarsely chopped pieces of shrimp, about five 5-second pulses.
Fold the 2 tablespoons panko and the lemon zest, parsley, and scallions into the shrimp mixture to combine. Chop the remaining ¼ pound shrimp into ½-inch pieces and fold into the mixture.
Shape the mixture into twelve 1½-ounce balls. Roll the balls in panko and gently flatten into ½-inch-thick patties.
Heat ¼ inch of oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Place 3 shrimp patties in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the edges turn pink and the burger looks golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn over and cook for 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Repeat with more oil and the remaining shrimp balls.
Place the burgers on the buns, top with the slaw, and serve.