Chicken and Tofu burgers is a dish that a friend of mine from Japan taught me how to make many years ago.  We had gone over to her house for a dinner party, and in the kitchen I saw these white burger patties on a baking sheet with another baking sheet sitting on tip and weighted down.  I asked why she was compressing the burgers like that and she explained that the high water content on tofu made it necessary to squeeze the burgers dry.

I was a bit intrigued by the entire process, but now that I make the dish regularly, it makes total sense to me.

At the time I first tried these I was not a big fan of tofu, but these burgers were just so good, they were absolutely addictive. The tofu softens the meat and absorbs all the lovely flavors of the spices so you wind up with a tender and flavor packed entree,

Chicken and Tofu burgers are aesthetically pleasing- thin and even works of art.  The whitish coloring looks great with almost any side dish and the meal itself can be plated in many different ways to produce your own edible work of art.  The photo above is a good example of how beautiful these burgers can be when plated with care.

Although this burger is primarily an entree, you can also form very small patties and serve it on baguette slices as a unique appetizer that your guests will love.

The recipe here uses some very basic spices- additional spices and herbs to try are cayenne pepper, chopped shiso, Japanese ginger (myoga), umeboshi plum paste, parsley, or cumin.  It’s really up to you to be as creative as you want to craft your own unique burger.  Try adding your own herbs and spices and let us know what you come up with!