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crispy chicken pho burger includes cilantro, slice of tomato, culantro, crispy fried chicken and basil

Crispy chicken Pho burger

A getaway from traditional burger: Vietnamese fusion food recipe - homemade crispy chicken pho burger. Fast, simple, crispy, and delicious.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 4 burgers
Author: Tu

Ingredients 

  • 4 halved chicken breast trim away excess fat, cut into 3x3in chicken pieces with 1 inch thickness
  • 4 burger buns
  • 2 sprigs culantro tear in half
  • 4 sprigs cilantro
  • 8 basil leaves
  • 4 slices tomato or beansprout
  • vegetable oil or other neutral oil for deep frying

Buttermilk marinade mixture

  • 1 ½ c buttermilk see notes for substitution
  • 1 medium shallot minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small jalapeno sliced
  • ½ tsp Kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper

Flour mixture

  • 2 c AP flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp cayenned pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 pinch five spice powder optional

Spiced hoisin sauce

  • 4 tbsp sweet hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp sweet mirin or water
  • 1 tsp ginger minced
  • 1 tsp garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha

Instructions

Marinade chicken

  • Whisk together all buttermilk marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and marinade chicken breasts for at least 3 hours or up to 1 day under refrigeration.

Make spiced hoisin

  • Mix together all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Fry chicken

  • Heat the oil on high heat to the desired temperature, usually around 350F (175C).
  • Pick 1 piece and dredge the marinated chicken from buttermilk mixture in the flour mixture. Then dip that piece again back in the butter milk. Finally, dredge again in the flour.
  • Carefully add dredged chicken breast in the hot oil. Then immediately turn down the heat just a little bit (ideally on medium high heat or between medium high and high heat). By doing so the oil is still hot enough to cook chicken breast but won’t burning its surface.
  • Deep fry the chicken breast until done, approximately 7-10 minutes. Two minutes before taking the chicken out, turn up the heat back to high. The fried chicken breast should have a crispy and golden brown outer layer.
  • Remove the deep-fried chicken breast from the oil and hold it over the pan, allowing the excess fat to drain.
  • Transfer the chicken to a pan or a plate lined with absorbent paper. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Assemble

  • Cut burger buns in half. On a clean surface or a clean plate, spread a thin layer of spiced hoisin on both halves of the buns.
  • Then add basil on one half, top it up with fried crispy chicken (drizzle more of spice hoisin on top of the chicken if desired), culantro, slice of tomato, cilantro then other half of the bun.
  • Serve immediately with French fried on the side.

Notes

  • If the deep-fried chicken is not used right away, place it in the oven at 250F to keep it warm and crispy or ideally under a heat lamp.

Substitutions

  • Buttermilk in this recipe can be replaced with: 1 c of whole milk + ½ c heavy cream + 1 tsp fresh squeeze lemon/lime juice.
  • Replace the spiced hoisin sauce and Asian herbs with mayo spread and lettuce for a regular fried chicken sandwich.