Chinese deconstructed turkey

Over the years, we’ve come to enjoy our Christmas turkey feasts with more than a bit of Chinese flair. 

I usually glaze the bird with soy sauce and sesame oil, stuff garlic under the skin and serve sticky rice stuffing packed with black mushrooms, Chinese sausages, dried chestnuts and fried shallots. 

And it is invariably delicious.

We also invite lots of Chinese friends over because they either do not have extended family in the area or just haven’t gotten into the swing of Christmas. 

Turkey seems like a grand mystery to these folks who have just arrived on our shores, for it is something that almost never appears on Chinese tables. 

The dried ingredients = xianwei

I have given up on offering them bread-based dressing, as it is almost always considered downright weird, but a rice surrogate never fails to win raves. 

Recently I tried something even more different than a whole roast turkey: It is French in origin, but incredibly Chinese in spirit....

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