Tag: East Asian
Taiwanese Turkey Rice
Taiwanese Turkey Rice
I’ve been more excited to use the leftover turkey for this recipe than the actual whole turkey I initially smoked. Turkey rice is a traditional Taiwanese dish that is really only eaten in food stalls and not made at home. Turkeys were introduced to Taiwan in the 1700s by Dutch colonists. Today, they are exclusively raised for restaurants, mostly making turkey rice. Roast turkey is chopped and placed on top of steamed rice. A rich sauce consisting of duck, goose, or pork fat, garlic, stock, soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and white pepper is ladled over the turkey rice, then topped with crispy fried shallots. Instead of using chicken or turkey stock, many turkey rice vendors will use pork stock since it is richer in flavor. Something that looks so simple and basic is actually so pleasantly satisfying that you will be back for seconds. Is this the ultimate leftover turkey comfort food? I think so.There are 2 approaches to making turkey rice. You can follow the recipe using leftover roast turkey, or poach a bone in turkey breast in stock with green onions, ginger, star anise, and salt. They are both great, but I had a good amount of leftover turkey from thanksgiving that I wanted to use up. Again, I would recommend making a large batch of turkey rice because you will want to eat more and more after your first bowl. It is that good.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3 lbs leftover roast turkey chopped
- 4 cups pork stock
- 1/2 cup duck, goose, or pork fat
- 2 cups shallots thinly sliced
- 1 head garlic thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup shaoxing cooking wine
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 4 cups steamed rice for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Place the chopped turkey on pan with 1 cup of the pork stock. Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Melt the duck fat in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add in the shallots in a single layer.
- Fry the shallots for 15-20 minutes until they are crispy.
- Scoop out the shallots and drain on paper towel. Set aside.
- In the same sauté pan, fry the garlic in the duck fat for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the stock along with the cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper.
- Simmer over medium high heat for 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half.
Hong Shao Rou
Hong Shao Rou
This is my favorite way to prepare pork belly. Hong Shao Rou is a Shanghai Chinese classic dish. The belly is seared in melted sugar, then braised with light and dark soy sauces, shaoxing cooking wine, and aromatics, resulting in a reddish glossy melt in your mouth porky goodness. Serve the pork belly with steamed rice and a vegetable.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb pork belly 1/2” thick; cut into 2” pieces
- 2 green onions cut in half
- 4 slices ginger
- water
Braising Liquid
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/3 cup shaoxing cooking wine
- 2 cups blanching liquid saved from the pork
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 6 slices ginger
- 3 green onions cut into 2” pieces
- 2 star anise pods
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in the pork belly, green onions, and ginger. Boil for 5 minutes. Skim off any of the scum that floats to the top.
- Drain the water, reserving 2 cups of the liquid. Rinse the pork belly under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat up cooking oil and sugar in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Watch the sugar. It will slowly turn an amber color. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Add the pork belly in a single layer to the pan.
- Cook the pork belly for 1 minute a side, making sure the sugar doesn’t burn.
- Add in the ginger and green onions. Cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the soy sauces and cooking wine. Cook for a minute, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the recesrved 2 cups of the blanching liquid. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes.
Xinjiang Lamb Burger
Xinjiang Lamb Burger
The seasonings in this lamb burger are the exact same as the Xinjiang lamb skewers eaten by the Uyghur population of Northwestern China. With middle eastern influences in the flavor, the burgers are heavily cumin based. I recommend cooking the burgers to medium-well. They will still be quite juicy. The lamb burgers are topped with lettuce, tomato, and a simple yogurt sauce that cuts through this heavy comfort food of goodness.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- burger buns
- tomatoes sliced
- lettuce
Sauce
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Mix together all of the sauce ingredients. Keep in the refrigerator until ready for use.
- Mix together the lamb, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- Patty up the lamb to your desired size: 4-1/4lb, 3-1/3lb, or 2-1/2lb.
- Heat up cooking oil on a griddle over medium high heat. Place the patties on the pan.
- Depending on the size of the patties, cook for 5-7 minutes per side. You do want the burgers cooked all of the way through.
- Place the burgers on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and the sauce.
