Lemongrass “Hamburgers”

Of all the powerful ingredients in these burgers—lemongrass, shallots, garlic, chile, and nam pla (called nuoc mam in Vietnamese for information on these Asian fish sauces)—none survives the cooking as well as the lemongrass, whose distinctive scent and flavor override all the others, reducing them to bit players.

Lemongrass is changed less by cooking than most seasonings, and this goes for its woody texture too, which is why you remove t