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Teriyaki Black Bean Burgers with Grilled Pineapples

Aloha~ I've been dreaming of the tropical heaven of Hawaii but without getting the vaccine shots I don't think I can responsibly travel yet. Since I couldn't easily travel there in this never-ending pandemic, I brought a little Hawaii to our table. These are the juiciest vegan burgers I ever made, courtesy of grilled pineapple rings and homemade teriyaki sauce!


The burger patties are my fail-safe bean burger recipe, I've tried it with black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans, and guess what, they all work very well! The difference in flavors is also barely noticeable so go ahead using whatever beans you got in your pantry.


For assembling, on top of the usual onions and letucces, I added grilled fresh pineapple rings and drizzled on a generous amount of homemade teriyaki sauce. This not only adds some major tropical flavor but also makes the burgers more moist and juicy!

If you like veggies burgers, you might also love this one - BBQ Tempeh Black Bean Burgers. 

INGREDIENTS:

For the Burgers -
1 15-ounce can black beans
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 6-ounce package shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon tamari/soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon coconut amino
3 tablespoon rice flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Fresh pineapple rings
Additional 3/4 baby bella mushrooms for assembling, optional

For the Teriyaki Sauce -
1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice from the pineapple container
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoon coconut amino
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder/cornstarch


TO MAKE:

- Preheat the oven to 395°F;
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and garlic, sauté for about 3-5 minutes until onions are caramelized, add the balsamic vinegar, cook till all liquid is gone, set aside;
- In the same pan, heat another drizzle of oil, add the shiitake mushroom, sauté till mushrooms let out the moisture, add tamari/soy sauce and coconut amino, sauté for another 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat, and set aside to cool down;
- Drain and rinse the beans, add everything to a food processor, including the sautéd mixture, pulse for a few times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and combined, DO NOT BLEND;
- Drizzle a little olive oil into your hands or a burger mold, form the mixture into burger patties, depending on how big you want your bigger, I got 3 big patties out of the mixture;
- Transfer the patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes;
- Meanwhile, prepare the teriyaki sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients except the arrowroot powder or cornstarch. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. While you wait for the sauce to boil, whisk the arrowroot powder/cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together in a small bowl to create a slurry. Once the sauce is boiling, add the slurry, then stir to combine. Cook for 1 additional minute, until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat;
- If using extra mushrooms for assembling, thinly slice the mushrooms and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste;
- Once the 25 minutes for the burgers is up, take out the burgers, generously brush both sides with sauce, add the mushrooms to the pan, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes;
- While the burgers are finishing cooking, grill the pineapples and red onion rings on your grill;
- Assemble the burgers with lettuce, patty, extra teriyaki sauce, grilled mushroom, onion and pinapple, enjoy!

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