Malaysian-Inspired Burgers on a Budget w/Paul Gray (Budget Eats Series)

Most people are aware that our Masters of Malaysian Cuisine co-founder, Paul Gray, is originally from South Africa, but what many don’t realise, since he spends most of the time behind the camera, is that he’s actually a pretty confident cook. Lately, Paul has taken on the challenge to livestream his cooking on our YouTube channel (YouTube.com/@momc) based around the theme of creating budget meals with a South Africa-meets-Malaysia touch.

In last week’s broadcast, Paul made some burgers for lunch, with the Malaysian inspiration coming from the buns (made from scratch with the help of a Thermomix) and the sambal belacan tumis spread.

Catch the full live recording here (approximately 60 minutes) –

We used the second half of a one-kilogram pack of Woolworths beef mince that cost A$13. Half had gone into Swedish meatballs from the previous week’s livestream, and the rest went into these burgers. That works out to be A$6.50 for the 7-8 burger patties we made.

The Buns

I (Jackie M.) made the buns in a Thermomix, adapting a Chinese Soft Buns recipe from Cookidoo. It’s a tangzhong-style dough that starts with a flour-and-water roux, which then gets mixed with yeast, milk powder, sugar, salt, and more flour.

If you have a Cookidoo account, you can find the recipe here – https://cookidoo.com.au/recipes/recipe/en-AU/r818263 (link only works for the Australian-based Cookidoo site, so if you’re outside Australia, just do a search for “Soft Chinese Bread Rolls” on Cookidoo)

The Patties

Paul handled the patties, where his rule of thumb is to let the beef speak for itself. We used what Australians would call grade 2 mince – the cheaper, fattier kind.

He mixed the beef with salt, Sarawak pepper, a sprinkle of bird’s eye chilli flakes, and a dash of fish sauce. No breadcrumbs, no onions, no egg. The idea is to keep the texture loose so the patties stay tender.

Each portion was roughly the size of a ping-pong ball. He cupped the mince loosely between his hands and flattened it slightly with the base of a glass dish so it would shrink to bun size once cooked.

Cooking the Burgers

The pan was coated with vegetable oil (beef tallow is preferred, but we didn’t have any on hand) – then finished with a bit of butter for flavour.

Patties went in for about one to two minutes a side, just until browned. After the first flip, he added a slice of cheese (Dutch Edam, Maasdam or smoked Gouda all work well) and covered the pan to let the cheese melt while the butter basted the meat.

If you like that crusty caramelised cheese edge, let it go a little longer.

The In-N-Out-Style Sauce

Since we had no mayonnaise in the house, Paul whipped up a quick batch in the Thermomix – eggs, oil and lemon juice – and used it as the base for a sauce that nods to In-N-Out burgers.

For the sauce he combined:

Homemade mayonnaise
Finely diced red shallots
Homemade cucumber pickles (equal parts vinegar, sugar, salt and hot water, poured over diced cucumber)
Smoked paprika
A touch of lemon juice

I added a little garlic powder at the last minute. The result was tangy, creamy and slightly smoky.

The Coleslaw

While the patties cooked, Paul shredded cabbage lengthways for longer strands and sliced carrot into thin matchsticks. He mixed them through just enough mayonnaise to coat.

For extra texture and flavour, you can add roasted sesame seeds or a few chilli flakes, but we kept ours simple.

Putting It Together

To assemble, we split the buns and toasted them lightly. The base bun got a generous smear of the In-N-Out-style sauce. Then came the patty with melted cheese, a spoonful of slaw, and finally a layer of sambal belacan tumis (recipe here – https://jackiem.com.au/2016/09/27/make-sambal-belacan-serunding-thermocook-method/ ) spread on the top bun for a Malaysian touch.

No lettuce this time, and no fried egg – though both would work if you want to bulk it up.

A few takeaways from the session:

Tangzhong dough gives you soft, fluffy buns even a day later.
Fatty mince and light handling make a juicier patty than any filler.
Fish sauce is a great secret weapon for beef.
Once you’ve made your own mayonnaise, it’s hard to go back to store-bought.
A little sambal brings the whole thing back home to Malaysia.

If you’re only now playing catch-up on this series by Paul Gray, you can find the four prior blog posts here (they all have the videos embedded in them) –

How to Cook Malaysian-style Swedish Meatballs

The $10 Chuck Steak Challenge

Camp-Ready Food – Lamb 2 Ways, and More

How to Cook Steak & Accompaniments

I’ll be posting future Budget Eats sessions here on the blog, so if you want the full recipes and updates, remember to sign up to our email list at MalaysianChefs.com/JoinToday and IMPORTANTLY– confirm your subscription when the confirmation email comes through.