Taiwanese Turkey Rice Bowl recipe 嘉義火雞肉飯
Whenever there is an occassion for roasting a whole turkey, whether its for Thanksgiving or Christmas, there is inevitably leftovers. The day after, most people are sick of eating more turkey. If the turkey was sourced well (like a slow grown Bronze Turkey) and cooked well, it will be moist and very flavourful.
If you end up with leftover turkey, here is a delicious and simple recipe that even the most novice cook can make. This leftover turkey recipe needs no expert techniques and just regular store cupboard ingredients
About Taiwanese Chiayi Turkey Rice Bowl
This Taiwanese Chiayi Turkey Rice is ubiquitous in Taiwan. It originated in the Chiayi region of Taiwan and is a very popular and economical street food. I was introduced to this by a curator of the intriguing Museum of Old Taiwan Tiles in Chiayi. She said that this dish is what she ate almost daily as a student as it was a really cheap and filling meal.
Intriqued, I went off to do some research. No one knows the real reason why and how turkey became such a popular protein in Taiwan as it is not indigenous. Some say that it was brought over by American troops after WWII. When there was a shortage of food in that time, chicken was not easily available but turkey was cheaper and offered the required nutrition and the locals began to adopt turkey in the local dishes. Whatever the origins, the people of Chiayi has made this their own. Of course as with other popular local dishes, every restaurnat or household will have their own variation.
This turkey rice is very simple, just sliced or shredded turkey over steamed rice, topped with a soy sauce based sauce made with the turkey dripping and fried shallots. Of course, some restaurants have their own secret recipes.
Here are other turkey recipes you can make with leftover turkey
How to make the Chiayi Turkey Rice
If you don’t have festive leftover turkey, you can cook a turky drumstick instead, which I prefer as it has more flavour than turkey breast. I found this at a local supermarket which I have never noticed before and was thinking of making the famous Disney turkey drumstick. I simmered the drumstick in water flavoured with some ginger and spring onions.
As you cook the turkey, make some steamed rice and sauce. The sauce is made with turkey drippings or lard, a good soy sauce and ready made crispy shallots. When the rice and turkey is ready, just assemble the rice bowl with hand shredded turkey, place over the rice and pour over the sauce.
You can serve this rice bowl on its own or with a side of vegetables. Once you have made this once and see how quick and easy it is, you will be making this regularly. If you don’t have turkey you can make this with chicken.
How to Store and Reheat
To Store: It is best to serve the Taiwanese turkey rice as soon as it is cooked. You can store any extra for another meal in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To Reheat: Reheat in the microwave for 3 minutes.
Taiwanese Chiayi Turkey Rice (嘉義火雞肉飯)
Ingredients
- 1 Turkey Drumstick or 100g leftover turkey per person
- 100 g shop bought crispy shallots
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
- 2 spring onions
- enough water to cover
- 2 bowls Steamed rice
Sauce
- 4 tbsp quality light soy sauce
- 4 tbsp turkey or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp pork lard or turkey dripping
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp white pepper
Instructions
- Make the turkey dripping from the turkey skin if you have enough skin. If using leftover turkey, use any dripping you have from roasting your turkey.
- Fry the turkey skin slowly over a medium hot pan to make the dripping. Don’t let it burn. Remove the turkey skin. Reserve to make the sauce.
- In a pan that will fit, add turkey drumstick, ginger, spring onions and water (water should be enough to cover the turkey). Bring it to a boil and let it boil for 5 minutes. Turn down the heat and let the turkey simmer, for 20-30 minutes until the internal heat reaches .
- Remove the turkey and shred the turkey into strips. If using leftover turkey, shred the turkey and heat up in a bit of broth. Microwaving will make the meat dry and tough.
- Make the sauce by putting the sauce ingredients in a pot. Simmer for a 5 minutes. Season to taste.
- To assemble, prepare a bowl of rice, top with the shredded turkey. Spoon the sauce over turkey and rice. Sprinkle with crispy fried shallots if you have any left. Serve immediately.
Notes
How to Store and Reheat
To Store: It is best to serve the Taiwanese turkey rice as soon as it is cooked. You can store any extra for another meal in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for 3 minutes.Did You Make This? Tag Me Today!
Take a pic and tag me on Instagram @eatcookexplore or #ecxfood. I’d love to see your turkey rice bowls!
