Simple Cooking

You’ll need to make these onions at least 1 week in advance.

Thai chiles are small, fresh red or green chiles, and are very hot. For a milder flavor, remove the seeds. You can substitute 1 fresh serrano chile. The flavors of Southeast Asia were the inspiration for these lean burgers, which are wrapped, Vietnamese-style, in lettuce.

If your grill is large enough, you can cook everything at once. Give the hamburgers about a 2-minute head start so everything is ready to come off the grill at the same time.

Use half of this recipe in the burgers and half for the grilled tomato sauce.

The spice rub can be stored in an airtight plastic container for up to 1 month.

Top-split buns are the time-honored choice for lobster rolls, but side-split buns can be used instead. Some people like only mayonnaise or melted butter on their lobster meat, but we love the added flavor that fresh herbs provide.

Remade as a club, the lobster roll trades its usual bun for brioche and takes on the customary bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

To julienne the vegetables, cut them into thin matchstick-size pieces using a sharp knife or a mandoline. Refrigerate them in an airtight container until ready to use, up to 3 hours.

The ingredients can be prepared the day before and refrigerated.