Steamed Chicken Patties
Ingredients
4 servings
For the patties
- Chicken thighs 4–5
- Parsley, cilantro 5–6 sprigs
- Salt, black pepper, chili pepper, aromatic herbs to taste
For serving
- Potatoes for mash to taste
- Butter 1 knob
- Herbs, paprika to taste
Step-by-step recipe
Making the ground chicken
All the ingredients besides the chicken are optional. If you want the steamed chicken patties to be strictly diet food, you can leave the spices and herbs out of the mixture. If you want a so-called low-carb dish, you can skip the potato side and so on. It’s all up to you. By and large, steamed chicken patties can be made from chicken alone, with sauces and ketchup providing the “flavor”. I’m not a fan of chicken breast, the “white” meat, so I used chicken thighs in this recipe.
Cut the skin and all visible fat off the chicken thighs.
Carefully cut out the bone and cartilage.
Grind the trimmed chicken in a meat grinder. To avoid adding binders, grind the chicken to a paste, so no big pieces of meat remain.
That’s hard to achieve with an ordinary meat grinder, even if you put the meat through several times. It’s much easier with a food processor with blades spinning at high speed. Or, after grinding, blitz the meat further with a hand blender.
Season the ground chicken. If you’re making ordinary steamed chicken patties that don’t pretend to be diet food, I suggest adding finely chopped herbs. Parsley and cilantro work well; they don’t give the chicken a harsh taste or smell. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and add a pinch of chili pepper and aromatic herbs, for example those typical of Mediterranean cooking.
Mix the ground chicken very thoroughly with a fork.
By the way, the mixture sticks badly to your hands, so it’s best to handle it with utensils and fingers dipped in cold water.
Put the mixture in the fridge briefly while the water in the steamer comes to a boil.
Shaping the patties
Wet a flat plate with water. Wetting your hands often, shape 8 oval patties, like ordinary breaded fried chicken patties. Put the shaped patties on the plate.
Steaming
As soon as the water in the pot boils, take the lid off the steamer and line the bottom with a liner to keep food from sticking to the wooden basket. Lay all the patties in a single layer, trying to keep them from touching.
Cover the steamer and keep steaming the chicken patties.
By the way, steam is very hot, so follow safety rules: above all, keep your hands away and open the lid with an oven mitt. Also, the woven basket has lots of gaps that steam can escape through.
Steamed chicken patties usually take 8–10 minutes. Given how chunky they are, you can go up to 15 minutes.
But as it turned out, even 10 minutes of steam cooks this much ground chicken perfectly.
Serving
While the steamed chicken patties cook, you can make a side dish if you like. I love steamed patties with mashed potatoes; that’s a personal thing.
For dishes like this, we usually make the mash a little looser than for fried homemade patties.
Spread the mashed potatoes on a plate in an even layer and sprinkle with finely chopped herbs and a pinch of paprika.
Put the steamed chicken patties on top of the mash, two per serving. Melt a knob of real butter and drizzle it over the patties and potatoes.
The dish is ready to serve: unbelievably tasty, a taste from childhood that thrills me every time.
Calories and macros
355 kcal
Serving ≈ 120 g
- Protein25 g29% of kcal
- Fat27 g71% of kcal
- Carbs0 g0% of kcal
100 g299 kcalProtein 21.2 gFat 22.9 gCarbs 0.4 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
How did you like this recipe?
To Get It Right
Which chicken to use
I’m not a fan of chicken breast, so I use thighs: dark meat is juicier, and steamed patties don’t come out dry. Patties made from breast alone will be drier; if you want white meat, mix breast and thigh meat half and half, as in chopped chicken patties with breast and thigh.
Strictly diet patties
For a strict diet, you can leave salt, spices and herbs out of the steamed patty mixture entirely: it won’t affect the quality or cooking method, though the patties will taste “bland”. Sauces and ketchup add the flavor, and instead of potatoes you can serve steamed rice or steamed vegetables.
With onion or zucchini
Readers add a small onion to the mixture, and the patties turn out very tasty. Grind the onion together with the meat to a paste. You can also add a little grated zucchini, squeezed well, or the mixture will get runny.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Questions and answers
How long do you steam chicken patties?
Steamed chicken patties take 8–10 minutes once the water is boiling and the patties are in the steamer. If the patties are large, you can go up to 15 minutes.
Do you need egg or bread in the mixture?
No. If you grind the chicken to a paste, the patties hold their shape without egg, bread, grains or flour, like Bulgarian kebapche, where nothing goes into the ground meat except meat, water and spices.
How do you steam patties in a pot without a steamer?
Set a colander or metal sieve over a pot of boiling water so the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Lay the patties in a single layer, cover with a lid and cook for the same time, 10–15 minutes.
Can you steam patties in a frying pan?
Yes. Pour 1–1.5 cm of water into a deep frying pan, bring it to a boil, add the patties and cover with a lid. Cook over low heat for 15–20 minutes, turning once: they’ll poach a little underneath but stay juicy.
How do you cook patties in a manti steamer or a multicooker?
In a manti steamer, just as in any steamer: oil the rack, lay out the patties and cook for 10–15 minutes after the water boils. In a multicooker, pour in water, put the patties in the steaming basket and use the Steam setting for 15–20 minutes.