Vietnamese Burger Bahn-Mi

I just became areal big fan of Vietnamese Bahn-Mi sandwiches and I wanted to have that same flavor profile in a burger. This burger was a real big hit at the last cookout we had. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do making it.

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup carrot, shredded
1 cup daikon radish (white radish), shredded
1 cup of ice
1 cup Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 green onions, finely diced
2.5 pounds of ground chuck (70/30)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
2 tablespoons of hot sauce
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil for greasing the grill rack.
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3/4 cup of real mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
6 sesame seed hamburger buns

Instructions:

Prepare one side of the grill for direct heat on high. Mix the water, honey, vinegar and soy sauce in an oven safe pot and place it on the grill over direct heat to boil. When it reaches a boil, add the shredded carrot and radish and boil for about 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add a cup of ice, napa cabbage and green onions and place the pot on ice or in the refrigerator to cool while making the patties.

Bring the grill to medium high heat. Mix the meat, cilantro, fish sauce, hot sauce and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Divide the meat up into 6 patties and grease the grill with olive oil. Place the patties on the grill directly over medium high heat and cook for 6 to 8 minutes per side or until desired doneness.

While the patties are cooking, Drain the carrot slaw. Dress the slaw with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. To make the lime dressing, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice and honey together in a small bowl and set aside on ice.

Toast the buns on the grill cut side down for about a minute. To assemble the burgers, spread the lime mayonnaise on the top and bottom of the buns, top with a cooked patty and divide the carrot slaw amongst the top of the 6 burgers. Top the burgers with the top bun and serve.