Asian Spiced Turkey Food

ASIAN-INSPIRED TURKEY NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Place the turkey stock in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, bring to a boil and lower heat to medium. Add in the garlic, carrots, shallots, ginger, and kafir lime leaves. Cover partially and simmer for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add in the sambal oelek, fish sauce, and lime juice. Cook another 5 minutes until fragrant. Check for seasoning.
• Meanwhile, pour boiling water over the bean thread noodles in a large bowl and let sit until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain the noodles and set aside.
• Add the turkey meat and cilantro to the soup mixture when ready to serve. Stir for 2 minutes until heated through. Serve the soup by first placing the noodles at the bottom of the bowl, and ladling the soup on top of the noodles. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

ASIAN SPICED TURKEY

Steps:

• Place celery and onions inside the turkey cavity. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, sugar, apple juice, vanilla and seasonings; mix well. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan; pour remaining water into the pan. Pour 1/4 cup soy sauce mixture into the cavity and another 1/4 cup over turkey; set remaining sauce aside. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until a thermometer reads 180°, basting occasionally with remaining sauce. When turkey begins to brown, cover lightly with foil. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

TANDOORI TURKEY

Steps:

• For tandoori masala:
• Toast spices in a skillet over medium heat, swirling often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Working in batches, finely grind mixture in a spice mill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 month ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• For garam masala:
• Toast spices in a skillet over medium heat, swirling often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Working in batches, finely grind mixture in a spice mill. Sift through a medium-mesh strainer into a small bowl; stir to combine. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 month ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• For turkey:
• Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Rub inside and out with salt; transfer to roasting bag. Stuff turkey with cardamom pods and cumin seeds, then onion, celery, and garlic.
• For marinade:
• Purée all ingredients in a blender. Pour marinade into roasting bag. Smear all over turkey. Tie bag and arrange turkey, breast side down, in a large heavy roasting pan. Refrigerate overnight.
• Let turkey stand in bag at room temperature for 1 hour. Turn breast side up. Create steam holes in bag if required by manufacturer's instructions.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roast turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh (puncturing bag with thermometer) registers 160°, about 1 1/2 hours longer. Cut top of bag open, being careful of steam and juices, and pull back over turkey. Roast turkey until breast is deeply browned but not burned and a thermometer inserted into thigh registers 165°F, 15-30 minutes longer.
• Transfer to a platter. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, strain juices into a large saucepan. Spoon fat from surface. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is reduced to 3 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes.
• Carve turkey. Serve with accompanying gravy.

ASIAN-SPICED FRIED TURKEY WITH SWEET POTATO FRIES AND CRANBERRY SYRUP

Steps:

• Two to three hours in advance, combine the water, salt, sugar, soy sauce, peppercorns, ginger, anise, and bay leaves in a cooler large enough to hold the turkey and stir to mix. Taste the brine, it should taste like sweet ocean water. Adjust salt and or turkey to taste. Add the turkey, if it is not covered, add more water and adjust seasoning accordingly. Fill the cooler with ice packs and cover.
• Fry in 375 degree F oil until cooked through 10 to 12 minutes depending on piece. Remove the turkey and season with the same chile salt used for the fries.
• Note: If you would like to do some of the cooking in advance, heat oil to 345 degrees F and blanch the turkey for 10 minutes. Later when ready to serve, heat the oil to 375 degrees F and finish cooking until a meat thermometer registers 170 and the skin is crisp and golden.
• Plating: Arrange the turkey in the center of the plate, stick spears out of the turkey with the cranberry syrup in a small separate bowl. Sprinkle with chile salt, garnish with fried sage leaves. Dip in cranberry syrup, and enjoy.
• Serve the turkey, if desired, with sweet potato fries and garnish with sage leaves that have been fried at 375 degrees F for 1minute until crisp and translucent, not brown.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, sweat the onions and the ginger until the onions are translucent. Add the cranberries, orange zest/juice, vinegar, cranberry juice, and sugar and simmer until reduced by about 25 percent. The mixture should coat a spoon. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep the chunky sauce in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Cut the sweet potatoes into spears and place in the prepared fryer for 10 minutes until crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with the chile salt.
• Note: as with the turkey, the fries can be blanched in 345 degree F oil ahead of time until just tender, but not brown, and refried in 375 degree F oil until crisp and golden.

THAI SPICED TURKEY PATTIES WITH NOODLE SALAD

Steps:

• Heat the grill to Medium. Put the turkey in a food processor and pulse until minced. Add the lemongrass, garlic and lime zest, and half the soy sauce, coriander and chilli, then pulse again until combined. Tip the mix into a bowl and add some black pepper. Shape into 8 patties, then transfer to a non-stick baking tray and grill for 3-4 mins each side, until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, soak the noodles following pack instructions, then drain and add the vegetables, the remaining soy sauce and the lime juice. Toss well, divide between plates and sprinkle with the remaining coriander and chilli. Serve with the turkey patties and some sweet chilli sauce for dipping, if you like.

SPICY ASIAN GROUND TURKEY WITH CABBAGE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a wok or large pan. When hot add ground turkey and stir fry it for 5 minutes. Add Hoisin sauce, hot chili sauce and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Continue to stir fry until almost cooked through. (I use the pampered chef tool to break up the meat into small pieces).
• In a bowl, combine the scallions, half of the ginger, cabbage, half of the chili pepper, the garlic, the 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and the lime zest.
• Add vegetable bowl mixture to wok and continue to stir fry until cooked but still slightly crisp.
• While the turkey and vegetables cook, make the dipping sauce. In a bowl, combine the remaining ginger and chili pepper, the 1/3 cup of soy sauce, the lime juice, the sesame oil, the honey and a splash of water. Taste and adjust the seasoning; if it's too salty, add another drizzle of honey.
• Before serving the meat stir in the cilantro leaves.
• Garnish with extra cilantro leaves and serve with the spicy lime dipping sauce.
• Wrap in lettuce cups or serve over noodles or rice.

ASIAN SPICED TURKEY BURGERS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, egg, green onions, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.
• Add turkey and gently mix with a fork just until ingredients are evenly blended.
• Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions. With your hands, shape each portion into a 3/4-inch-thick patty.
• If making ahead, lay patties side by side on a plate, cover airtight, and chill up to 24 hours.
• Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct, medium-high heat (the charcoal or gas flame is directly under the cooking area, and you can hold your hand just above grill level only 3 to 4 seconds.
• For charcoal grill: Before you put the grill over the hot coals, brush grill with a generous coat of oil.
• For gas grill: When hot, brush grill with a generous coat of oil.
• Lay patties on well-oiled grill (close lid if using gas) and cook 5 minutes, then turn burgers with a wide spatula. Continue cooking until meat is opaque in center (cut to test), 5 to 6 minutes longer.
• Transfer burgers to buns and garnish to taste.