Elevating a Classic: Nina Daza-Puyat Transforms a Fast Food Staple into a Gourmet Meal

Discover a new way you can serve burgers and how you can instantly upgrade it with just a few additional ingredients.

Everybody loves a good burger from time to time. It can be a perfect on-the-go snack or a filling meal. Beef burgers are true classics, but the great thing about the culinary landscape is the freedom to experiment and try out new things. Over the years, numerous alternatives have been introduced, from chicken burgers to plant-based ones.

Adding to the list of clever alternatives, food expert Nina Daza-Puyat’s shrimp burger proves to be another culinary reinvention as it calls for an even more surprising factor that can be added to burgers—vermicelli noodles. 

From Fast Food to Gourmet

The beauty of burgers is their versatility. With homecooks experimenting with different ways to make it their own, even the simplest of recipes can be made into something more special. For Nina Daza-Puyat, the inspiration for her Shrimp Burger with Asian Slaw recipe sparked from a fast food restaurant abroad.

“It’s an original recipe in the sense that I decided what ingredients to put into it. But the idea of making shrimp into a burger, I got from [a fast food restaurant] in Japan—the Ebi burger,” she shared. 

At first glance, a shrimp burger might sound straightforward, as simple as replacing beef with shrimp. But Nina has expressed how it was a little bit tricky to work with given how different the two ingredients are from each other.

“Originally when I wanted to make that shrimp burger, I thought I would just make it pure shrimp… But if you make a patty, it won’t be big enough, it’s going to be expensive for our market. So, I had to rethink that and I said ‘What would a Filipino housewife do?’ She would use extenders,” the food expert explained.

Throughout her recipe formulation process, Nina decided to toss in chopped carrots, water chestnuts, spring onions, and also Chinese dried mushrooms that not only gave the shrimp patty extra bulk, but also added fiber, texture, and extra nutrition. 

Tie it All Together

Although the shrimp burger is already an elevated version of the typical one we’re accustomed to, Nina has added an extra layer of surprise. A usual burger often contains fresh lettuce that just gives a satisfying new texture.

Not forgetting about the vegetable staple, the cookbook author decided to mix in crispy fried noodles to the patty itself, giving it a surprising crunch. “I fried the noodles first, crushed them, and then I used them [like] bread crumbs,” she clarified. Nina discovered how the fried noodles were a perfect way to give the burger the extra crunch for a better experience. 

The Asian Slaw became the perfect side for this premium meal that ties it all together. With the delightful contrast between the crisp, chilled lettuce and the steaming burger, you get the best of both worlds. 

“The ingredients that I put in are very Asian like the dried Chinese mushrooms, the water chestnuts. They are very Asian in flavor. The coleslaw is an additional layer of flavor. First of all, there are vegetables, then there’s sesame oil, sesame seeds, a little soy sauce… and then it’s sweet. It’s a good counterpoint to the savory burger,” Nina declares. 

A burger has many appearances—bite-sized, tall, overflowing, or however you like it. No matter how it is served, one thing’s for sure: the burger is a culinary staple that can always be reinvented so it can be enjoyed by anyone, anytime, anywhere. 

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