For me, a spice freak who loves and craves asian flavours, this type of burger is my ultimate. Picture this: a sriracha mayo (always yum) a nuoc cham/fish sauce-like glaze, slapped (literally) on some crispy chicken, topped with a herby slaw (bringing the crunch, coriander, and sesame) all closed inside a soft, pillowy sesame bun. Its perfectly balanced, crispy & juicy all at the same time.
The Fish Sauce Glaze
Without this glaze, I’d say this would almost be a standard chicken burger with a few Thai ingredients thrown in. But with it, the whole thing transforms into an explosion of Thai flavours. On its own, the glaze can taste quite strong - maybe even a little harsh - but once it’s layered into the burger, everything balances beautifully. The glaze brings salty-sweet, fiery depth, the slaw adds freshness, and the mayo brings creaminess and extra spice. Each element plays an important role, so don’t skip or heavily alter them.
I like keeping the aromatics whole for this one rather than chopping them up. The reason is simple - I don’t want those flavours to overpower the fish sauce; they’re there to enhance it. Keeping them whole also prevents them from burning while the sugar caramelises. You can strain the glaze through a sieve or pick out the aromatics when it’s ready, but honestly, there’s no real need. You can just dip the chicken straight into the glaze with the aromatics still in there, it all adds to the flavour. Plus the longer you leave the aromatics in there, the more flavour they will leak into the glaze.
Crunchy Slaw > Soggy Slaw
The easiest way to end up with a soggy slaw is by mixing it with mayo too early. If you toss everything together only towards the end of the cook, it’ll stay fresh, crunchy, and less watery.
If you need to make it in advance, a little tip is to salt the sliced cabbage first. Let it stand for 10–20 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water. This simple step helps the cabbage keep its crunch for much longer.
And finally - make sure you slice it thinly! No one wants a massive chunk of cabbage in their bite of burger, it should melt into the bite - adding texture and freshness without taking over.
4 Sesame Burger Buns
2L Oil for frying
Chicken Marinade
4 Large Boneless Chicken Thighs
500ml Buttermilk
1 Egg
1tbsp/15ml Sriracha
2tsps/10ml Garlic Powder
2tsps/10ml Onion Powder
3tsps/45ml Korean Chilli Powder
1tbsp/15ml Fish Sauce
2tsps/10ml Soy Sauce
1 Lime, juiced
1tsp/5ml MSG
Flour Dredge
120g Flour
50g Cornflour
50g Rice Flour
2tsps/10ml Garlic Powder
2tsps/10ml Onion Powder
1tbsps/15ml Korean Chilli Powder
1tsp/5ml MSG
1tsp/5ml Salt
1tsp/5ml White Pepper
Slaw
150g Green Cabbage, sliced
100g Red Cabbage, sliced
½ Onion, sliced thinly
1 Carrot, grated
Handful Coriander, chopped
2tsp/10ml Toasted Sesame Seeds
2tsp/10ml Fish Sauce
3tbsp/45ml Mayo
Salt & Pepper
Mayo
60g Mayo
40g Sriracha
Caramel Fish Sauce Glaze
25g Palm Sugar, chopped - 1 dome
3tbsp/45ml Fish Sauce
50ml Water
1 Shallot, quartered - didn’t have but would still add
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and whole
3 Ginger Slices, 0.5cm thick
4 Dried Bird’s Eye Chillies
Marinade Chicken - try do this the night before.
Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Add in the chicken thighs, cover with clingwrap and place in the fridge for 2-24hours
Flour Dredge
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix together.
Sriracha Mayo
In a small bowl mix the mayo with the sriracha and adjust the spice to your preference by adding more sriracha for spice or more mayo for less spice.
Caramel Fish Sauce Glaze
Add all the ingredients to a small frying pan then bring to a simmer over a medium-low heat and cook for 5-10 minutes while stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and glaze has thickened and sticky.
Slaw
Add all the sliced veggies to a bowl and mix together with wet ingredients.
Frying Chicken
Place the pot of oil for frying on to the stove over a medium heat, waiting for the temperature to be 160-170°C.
In the meantime, remove the chicken from the fridge and set up a station with the chicken marinade, the flour dredge and a wire rack.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, shake off any excess liquid into the flour bowl to create some little wet clumps. Mix it with your other hand, then drop the chicken into the flour dredge. Toss the chicken in the flour around 10 times, while also scrunching and pressing the chicken into the flour to create those crispy extra bits we all love on our fried chicken. Shake off any excess flour and place it onto the wire rack. Do this with the remaining marinating chicken.
Once the oil is the right temperature then take your floured chicken, which should now look slightly damp, and place it back into the flour mix. Toss and scrunch the chicken a few more times then shake off the excess flour and place into the hot oil carefully.
Fry the chicken in small batches for around 5 minutes until lightly golden. Then place back on the wire rack.
Once all the chicken has had a first fry, heat the oil up to 190°C. Then once at that temperature, fry off the chicken again for around 1-2 minutes until deeply golden.
Place the fried chicken back on the wire rack ready to be basted with the glaze.
Glazing
Dip the brush into the glaze and brush it over the chicken until the chicken is glossy.
Then you are ready to build the burger.
Hope you enjoy!
M&T
xxx
