Spicy Quinoa Burger

While traveling, I've found that some cities and countries are much more vegan friendly than others. When I arrived to Chiang Mai, a beautiful city in northern Thailand I was impressed with the amount of options available, there were vegan cafes and restaurants left and right, with delicious and beautifully crafted dishes that I was eager to try. 

I found one of the best vegan restaurants in town while volunteering for an Anonymous for the voiceless event, where I met the owner of Goodsouls Kitchen, a man from Switzerland that was also volunteering for this organisation that fights for animals rights through street activism. 

It was great to speak to him and be surrounded by so many people that fight for the same cause. I know street activism among the vegan community is quite often a very controversial topic but, personally, I believe it's important to spread the word and show people the suffering that farm animals are put through just for the sake of taste. 

Nowadays there are so many other options available and places like Goodsouls Kitchen that go to show how it's possible to have a well rounded diet without the cruelty involved in the farming industry. 

After this event and visiting this place a bunch of times, it became one of my favourite restaurants in Chiang Mai. If you ever make it to north Thailand, make sure it goes on your must-visit list; everything is cooked with fresh ingredients and they carry a great variety of both thai and western food, actually this is where you can find, hands down, the best vegan burgers in town.

My two favourite burgers from this place are the mushroom burger and the quinoa burger, whenever I go I have such a hard time deciding which one to order since they are equally delicious. 

A couple of weeks ago we were having a bbq at home and burgers were on the menu. I wanted to mimic the ones from the restaurant but again I couldn't decide which one to go for so I got a little ambitious and in order to have the best of both worlds I tried a little experiment and made a hybrid of both of them.

It's definitely not your conventional veggie patty, but I have to say it turned out great, I can make a bunch and put them in the freezer for later!

The quinoa and mushrooms go very well together and with the addition of the kidney beans and some other ingredients, you will be getting about 20g of protein per burger, so if you are looking for a hefty nutritious meal, this is it. 

I used whole grain buns to get more essential nutrients and health benefits versus going for the usual white bread. And finally, the sauce is easy to make and adds a lot of flavour and moisture to your burgers, it's just Sriracha and vegan mayonnaise. 

This burger is definitely a great alternative to a beef patty, it comes without the suffering and is packed with pure plant power!