Taiwanese turkey + fried shallots

Turkey seems like it wouldn’t make much of an appearance on Chinese tables, as this bird is native to North America. Not only that, but it wasn’t until very recently that ovens started to be included in Chinese kitchens. In spite of all this, what we have here is a wonderful and wonderfully easy way with turkey – especially leftovers – that makes this Taiwanese dish a complete delight.

I first ate Turkey Rice in the bustling central Taiwan town of Chiayi back when I was a student. It was – and still is – pure genius. Shreds of moist turkey meat are piled on top of a small bowl of fresh, hot rice, and then the bird’s seasoned juices are poured all over. Some fried shallots, a bit of fat, and a couple of slices of Japanese-style pickled radish round out the dish. 

And so, this is a meal you can put together in minutes if you have leftovers from Thanksgiving or Christmas. In Taiwan, melted lard is poured over the bowl, giving it a delicious, buttery texture. I've opted for shallot oil here, as it's a side product of the freshly fried shallots we have here (a signature flavor throughout Southern Fujian and Taiwan) that just happens to be insanely delicious.

But how did turkey come to be popular in Taiwan of all places? The story I heard was that American soldiers introduced the bird to the island back when they were stationed all over Taiwan, which was from the early 1950s through about 1979, when the U.S. normalized relations with China. When I was a student in Taipei, the Americans had a huge base on the western edge of the city near the Confucian temple, and I was always trying to scheme my way in there in order to snag some Baskin Robbins.

This delicious way with turkey has become incredibly popular throughout Taiwan, especially in night markets and the innumerable small food stands that line the island’s endless alleyways. I always tell people who are planning to visit Taiwan to make sure to dine in these little places that sport some of the best food around. And Turkey Rice is one of my favorites.

T-Day redux, in a good way

Turkey rice

Huǒjī fàn  火雞飯

Taiwan

Makes 4 servings

2 cups (or so) cooked turkey meat (hand-shred the meat after removing the bones and most of the skin); cooked chicken meat can be substituted and is equally tasty

1 cup pan juices from the roast turkey, or 1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, or to taste

2 tablespoons mild rice wine (Taiwan Mijiu)

4 cups freshly cooked hot rice

1 cup fried shallots (see recipe below)

½ cup shallot oil (see recipe below)

Freshly ground black pepper

8 to 12 thin slices Japanese pickled radish (takuan zuke)

Cilantro, optional

1. Place the turkey meat in a small saucepan and cover with the pan juices or stock. Bring these to a full boil and then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Season with the soy sauce (use more or less depending upon the saltiness of the juices or stock) and rice wine. Remove from the heat and cover while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, as this will allow the meat to plump up.

2. Steam the rice and fry the shallots, if you haven’t done so already.

3. Divide the rice among four bowls. Top with the turkey and a couple tablespoons of the juices per bowl. Pile the fried shallots to one side of the turkey and drizzle around a tablespoon of the oil over the turkey in each serving. Grind some black pepper on top of each bowl. Fan out the pickled radish along another edge and add a couple sprigs of cilantro, if you wish. Serve hot.

---

The following is a modification of the recipe I offered on this blog a couple of years ago. I finally figured out a way to cook the shallots evenly without much danger of burning: I cover the pan as they fry over medium-low heat. This releases most of the moisture in the shallots and gets them cooked through before they are quickly browned. 

Snack food par excellence

One thing you have to keep an eye on is the browning process: These babies burn quickly, so stir them almost constantly as they begin to toast and then immediately remove the pan from the heat as soon as 95% of the shallots are a rich golden hue. It is preferable to have a few pale slices in the mix rather than burn even a couple slices. 

This oil is absolutely delicious, and I defy you to not nibble on the crispy fried shallots. 


Fried shallots and shallot oil
Yóucōng sū 油蔥酥 and hóngcōng yóu 紅蔥油
Southern Fujian and Taiwan
Makes about 1 cup fried shallots and 3 cups seasoned oil

12 ounces shallots, peeled

3 cups peanut or vegetable oil

 

Slice them & separate the rings

1. Slice the shallots crosswise and separate them into individual circles.

2. Place the cool oil and sliced shallots in a saucepan or wok and slowly raise the heat to create a gentle bubbling around the shallots. Cover the pan and lower the heat to medium-low. When the slices are still not browned, but just limp and looking a whole lot thinner, go to the next step. 

3. Uncover the pan and raise the heat to medium-high. Keep a close eye on the pan, stirring often, and when the shallots are more or less a uniform golden brown, drain them in a metal sieve over a heatproof work bowl. Be sure not to overcook the shallots, as they turn bitter once they fry to a dark brown. 

4. Wick off any extra oil in the shallots by placing them on a paper towel. They will crisp up as they cool, and I like to toss them around a bit to keep them from settling into a mass. Refrigerate the oil and the shallots separately if you are not using them soon.

Taiwanese braised pork over rice

The other day we were absolutely starved, and since the restaurant we normally patronize in a Chinese strip mall was still taking its afternoon siesta, we hunted around for something else to eat. The sign for one place looked promising: home-style Taiwanese food. Visions of the great street food we used to enjoy in Taipei danced in our head, and we were almost giddy at the thought of having some oyster rolls, fish ball soup, sesame oil chicken, and braised pork over rice.

Our hopes and ravenous taste buds were dashed with equal force when the waiter said that they didn't have any of those dishes, either on the menu or because they weren't in stock. The wall was plastered with handwritten signs for fried intestines, stinky tofu, and other delicacies, none of which particularly appealed to our short tempers and grumbling stomachs. So, we ordered a bunch of other items that were barely edible and not particularly memorable except for their extravagant prices.

And I started to wonder, why can't I get some of Taiwan's greatest street foods around here? There certainly are enough Taiwanese in the Bay Area to warrant a try, and I bet if any clever restaurateur put a good bowl of that porky manna from heaven called lurou fan before a homesick Taiwanese, he or she would have a customer for life.

See the secret to good hard-boiled eggs below

Utterly dissatisfied with my meal, but with my memories and appetite kicked into full gear, I went grocery shopping on my way home. 

Right after I walked in the door, I got out my wok and whipped up one of those staples of Taiwanese street food, the kind of food that grandmas used to have bubbling on the stove and sending out puffs of deliriously delicious fragrances out of apartment windows, one of those dishes that you swear you can smell in your dreams. 

The good thing is that it's not hard to make, it's great to have on hand, and anyone who likes pork and soy sauce will fall in love. As in the traditional recipes, the pork is served with a hard-boiled egg that has simmered in the pork sauce, as well as a bright round of Japanese pickled daikon. 

In our house, we have one person who will eat as many eggs as he can get away with. (One time I made a dozen eggs like these and came upon him in the kitchen happily polishing off egg #9.) I therefore make lots more eggs that these recipes usually call for. Feel free to double or triple the amount of hard-boiled eggs; your only limitation is the sauce that needs to cover them, and the recipe can be doubled or tripled, as well. I have some suggestions below on how to get your eggs to end up with a yolk that is balanced in the center, rather than clinging to one side and subjecting the white to tearing.

Frying shallots for a toasty flavor

There is also a recipe here for fried shallots, a prized seasoning in Taiwanese cooking. If you can, double the recipe and use the crispy little rings in your eggs, over noodles, on top of soups or even salads, and anywhere that could benefit from their subtle oniony punch and crunch. The oil the shallots were fried in is wonderful too, and is one of Chinese cuisine's traditional finishing oils, or mingyou, that are sprinkled over dishes to add a nice sheet and touch of flavor. Store this oil in the fridge, and keep a bit of it in a squirt bottle next to the stove.

Back to the star of the show, though. The resulting pork and sauce is served over a bowl of steaming rice with an egg (or three), a sprinkle of chopped cilantro, and a couple slices of that neon yellow Japanese daikon pickle known as takuan. This last fillip is probably a leftover from Taiwan's colonial days, when the Japanese ruled the roost. The politics of the matter aside, Japan left its cuisine behind in good hands, for this touch of color and piquant flavor is nothing less than perfect.

Eat it and weep... with delight.

Diced braised pork over rice
Lurou fan   滷肉飯  
Southern Fujian, Taiwan

Serves 6 to 8 as part of a multicourse meal

Fried shallots:
1 cup thinly-sliced shallots or small onions

2 cups fresh vegetable or peanut oil

Braised pork and eggs:

Fried shallots and mingyou

2 pounds fresh pork (try to get a ratio of two parts lean to one part fat)
½ cup garlic, chopped
½ cup shallots, chopped
The fried shallots (see above)
6 tablespoons peanut oil
Boiling filtered water as needed

6 to 8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Sauce:
4 tablespoon tasty peanut butter, chunky or smooth
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 star anise
½ teaspoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
½ cup light soy sauce
¾ cup Taiwanese rice wine (Mijiu) 
Rock sugar to taste (or about the size of a walnut)
4 cups boiling filtered water

Final touches:
6 to 8 cups hot steamed rice
Pickled Japanese daikon (takuan), sliced
Chopped cilantro

1. Start this dish at least a day before you want to serve it. First make the fried shallots. Separate the sliced shallots (or onions) into rings so that they fry quickly and evenly. Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat until a wooden or bamboo chopstick inserted into the oil is immediately covered with bubbles. Sprinkle in the shallots, reduce the heat to medium, and slowly fry them until they turn a golden brown, stirring often so that they do not burn or cook unevenly. Remove the fried shallots to a plate, strain the oil, and use that as a finishing oil, or mingyou, in other dishes.

Fried pork, garlic, and shallots

2. Blanch the pork for ten minutes and cut in small dice.  Fry the raw shallots and garlic in oil until light brown.  Add the pork and fry it until cooked it begins to brown; if you have pork skin in the mix, be sure to use a spatter shield or a lid over the pork while it is frying, since the pork skin is liable to explode and shoot all over.  Add the fried shallots and all of the sauce ingredients, topping it off with enough boiling water to cover.  Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and let it cook for about half an hour. 

3. Taste and adjust the flavor with salt, wine, and sugar as needed.  Add the eggs, bring the pot to a boil again, and then let it simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.  Allow the sauce to come to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.  Try to submerge the eggs so that they obtain an even golden color.

4. The next day or -- even better -- after a couple of days, scrape most of the fat off of the top (if you want) before bringing the pork and eggs to a boil again; reduce it to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about an hour, turning the eggs occasionally so that they tan evenly.  (If you cook the eggs with the cover on, they will get a honeycomb effect throughout the egg whites and will become tough.)  Remove the eggs from the sauce and bring the pork and sauce to a boil to reduce it to about ¼ to ½ cup.

5. To serve, place about a cup of hot steamed rice in a large soup bowl, and put an egg on top of the rice and a mound of the pork next to it along with a couple slices of pickled daikon.  Dribble a bit of the sauce over the pork and egg.  Throw some chopped cilantro on top and serve.

Perfect boiled eggs

Variations.  This pork is great on a variety of things, from fried eggplant to blanched bean sprouts to blanched Chinese chives.  Leftovers can be used to top a simple egg omelet, tossed with cooked eggplant, or ladled on top of a bowl of hot noodles soup.  Consider making a double amount of the pork and freezing it in 1-cup bags so that you can have lunch or dinner in the time it takes to boil your noodles.

Tip on making a balanced hard-boiled egg: This is one of those cooking secrets that sounds so obvious once you hear it. Just gently stir the eggs as they come to a boil, so that the raw yolk is moving around in the egg while the whites start to set up. Also, use medium heat rather than high heat to boil the eggs, which gives the eggs time to set up evenly.