Asian Turkey Brine, Noodle Side Dishes and More

ABSTRACT: Ethnic foods can bring a subtle taste difference to your Thanksgiving table, wow your friends and family, but still give everyone that traditional meal we in the US love so much.

In particular, Asian foods bring a wonderful taste diversion to your dinner table, never boring, adding a bit of a cultural flare to the table Adding ethnic options gives more choices from which to plan meals. I love trying ethnic dishes, because I can take simple ingredients-like chicken, pork, potatoes and noodles-and try them in tastes and sauces and dishes that make them taste like completely different meals.

For Thanksgiving, most families who prepare a meal tend to go the traditional route: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, some type of casserole, and traditional desserts. Oh, and don’t forget the cranberry sauce.

But these suggestions for some ethnic variations on Thanksgiving are super easy to implement for your meal plan, without changing much on your shopping list, and can bring an entirely different type of flavor to your traditional meal. Let’s look at a few of these ideas:

Asian Brined Turkey

We all love turkey on Thanksgiving, and a brined turkey is one of the juiciest, best ways to prepare a turkey before roasting. I’ve tried multiple brines, and my favorite is an Asian brine that I’ve tweaked the recipe on several times to finally get this perfect Asian turkey brine for Thanksgiving.

Brine Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 pound firm unpeeled ginger, sliced lengthwise
• 6 whole star anise
• 1/2 cup dried red chiles (about 25)
• 24 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 heads of garlic (whole/sliced or chopped)

Directions: Heat all the ingredients in a large stock pot with five quarts of water until just boiling, then let cool. In a water-tight cooler, set the partially frozen turkey upright with the cavity toward the top of the cooler. Carefully pour the brine into the inner cavity of the turkey, letting it overflow into the cooler. Pour all the brine into and on top of the turkey and then let the turkey sit in the cooler for four hours while it defrosts and absorbs the brine. Then pour in a 10-lb bag of ice, and stir the ice up with the brine.

Let the turkey sit in the brine for at least 24-hours, replacing the ice to keep it cool while it defrosts. Once the turkey is defrosted and ready to roast, simply remove it from the brine and pat dry. Prepare the turkey how you would normally roast it, and discard the used brine.

Asian Turkey Stuffing

Of course, if you have an Asian-inspired turkey brine, you should probably consider stuffing that turkey with some Asian-flared stuffing. This recipe is a great complement to the flavors of the brine:

• 3 cups (21 ounces) long-grain Asian sweet rice or sticky rice
• 2 pckgs Pepperidge Farms stuffing bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 scallions, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 Chinese sausages, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 6 mussels, shucked and patted dry, chopped
• 3 tablespoons dry white wine
• 3 cups turkey or chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Soak the rice in water overnight, then prepare according to package directions. Prepare the Pepperidge Farms stuffing according to package directions. In a frying pan, pour the sesame oil and vegetable oil, add garlic, ginger, scallions, salt & pepper, and almonds. Cook until scallions are tender and slightly translucent. Remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to remove all ingredients, but leave some of the oil in the pan. Put sausages and mussels in the frying pan and cook until they are warmed through and sizzling, reduce heat. Add in white wine, soy sauce and slowly stir back in the vegetable oil/garlic mixture you removed earlier.

In a large stock pot, put the prepared rice and stuffing mix and mix well. Pour the chicken or turkey stock into the frying pan and continue to stir and heat until the broth comes just to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour into the large stock pot with the rice and stuffing. Stir and mix thoroughly, continuing to stir until all the flavors are mixed well and the bread portion is saturated with the flavors.

Spoon the mixture, which will be slightly ‘goopy’, into a baking pan large enough to accommodate, and put in the oven on 400 degrees for one hour. The top will brown and the stuffing will become firmer. This stuffing can be used to stuff the interior cavity of the bird, but it’s recommended that the stuffing be cooked first throughout before stuffing into the bird for roasting, or it might not firm up in the center. As with any stuffing, be sure the turkey’s interior temperature is at least 160 degrees before eating the stuffing, so there’s no chance of bacterial contamination from the stuffing.

Again, if you like a little kick, chiles or Thai peppers can be added to this stuffing by frying them in the oil mixture with the garlic and ginger too.

Asian Flare Green Bean Casserole

Okay, so the green bean casserole has quickly become a ‘classic’ favorite around the holidays, so why not consider following the Asian theme twist with this classic dish? Udon noodles are wonderful, and you can simply add them to the dish when you cook it following your favorite recipe. For an even more unique Asian twist, add a for dried Thai peppers to the casserole, and you have a tweaked Asian-inspired green bean casserole.