Gochujang Burgers

In September, I entered three recipe contests...and I didn't win three recipe contests. One was the Breyer's sundae thing, and another was a burger contest sponsored by Annie Chun's Go-Chu-Jang sauce. The grand prize was a trip to Korea, and while I've always wanted to visit Asia, Korea might not be my first choice. So no harm done.

So here's my losing recipe. It was absolutely delicious; the judges don't know what they're missing. And...I couldn't find that damn Annie Chun brand in my supermarket, so I used real Korean gochujang that I purchased from H Mart.

Korean-style Pork Burgers with Sweet and Sour Cabbage Salad

Burgers:
1.5 lb ground pork
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tablespoons gochujang sauce

Salad:
2 cups green cabbage, cut into 1/2" - 1" pieces
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons gochujang sauce
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons chopped scallions

Sesame Mayo:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced scallions
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Hamburger buns

Combine pork, garlic and gochujang. Form into 6 patties. Refrigerate an hour or until ready to serve.

Make salad:
Place cabbage in a colander set over a bowl. Toss with salt and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. Rinse cabbage well and place into a large bowl. Add gochujang, sesame oil, sugar, lime juice, and scallions and toss well. Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Make mayo:
Combine mayo, scallions, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook burgers:
Pan fry or grill about 4 minutes per side until cooked through.

To assemble:
On bottom half of hamburger bun, place a tablespoon or so of cabbage salad. Top with burger, then top with a tablespoon of mayo, and top half of bun.