Kung Po your Turkey this Christmas

 1 November 2011

If you are looking for a more exciting Christmas taste experience this year,

why not look at including some Oriental flavours in your festive menu? Wing

Yip, the UK’s leading Chinese grocer, has created a range of simple

recipes to inspire and encourage cooks to be a little more creative this

Christmas.

“Christmas is an ideal opportunity to enjoy food in the company of family

and friends and to cook more extravagant, gourmet dishes,” said Mr Wing

Yip, Chairman of Wing Yip plc.

“In our stores we have over 3000 products to inspire your Christmas menu.

Fresh fish is delivered to our superstores daily, including fresh prawns and

lobster, whilst our online shopping service offers a range of authentic

Oriental cooking and dipping sauces ideal for marinating meats and

vegetables, as well as a range of Eastern inspired treats for Christmas and

New Year parties.”

And for those looking to give traditional Christmas food an Oriental twist,

Wing Yip’s development chef, Chef Lin, has several suggestions:

“Dried Shitake mushrooms can be chopped and added to stuffing or as a base

for soups, ideal for the starter or a simple supper dish. Szechuan pepper

works well dry roasted in a hot pan and used sparingly to season the turkey

before cooking and lychees offer an ideal alternative for toppings on flans

or glazed tarts.”

Use these simple recipes to impress family and friends at the dinner table:

Kung Po Turkey

Star anise, cinnamon and ginger bring this recipe to life and the stuffing

is made with glutinous (sticky) rice, but you may choose to use jasmine rice

as an alternative:    

Ingredients:

•           1 Turkey (adjust spices to taste)

•           2-3 sticks cinnamon

•           6-8 star anise

•           185ml jar Wing Yip Kung Po Sauce

•           1-2 Tsp. Five Spice Powder

For the stuffing:

•           228 gms glutinous rice (soaked for 4 hours), or,228 gms Jasmine Rice

(washed and drained)

•           170 ml vegetable stock

•           85g Chorizo or Chinese sausage (finely sliced)

•           28gm dried sliced mushrooms (soaked and chopped)

•           1 tsp ginger juice (from grated fresh ginger)

•           1 Tbsp. Wing Yip Cooking wine

•           1 Tbsp. Wing Yip Oyster Sauce

•           2 Tbsp. Peanut Oil

•           2 Tbsp. black rice vinegar

•           1 Tbsp. Wing Yip Sesame Oil

•           1 Tbsp.  Wing Yip Light Soya Sauce

Preparation

For the stuffing

Method 1 - Jasmine Rice

1.         Heat oil in a wok and fry sausage and mushrooms. Season with light soy,

oyster sauce, ginger juice and black vinegar.

2.         Add rice and stirfry for 2 minutes.

3.         Remove rice and place in a pot and add stock. Cook on medium-high heat

initially and when holes appear in the rice, turn heat down to the lowest

setting, cover and allow rice to continue cooking in its own steam for

approximately 10 minutes

4.         When rice is cooked, cool quickly and stuff turkey neck cavity, pressing

rice firmly into place, securing neck flap with a cocktail stick.

Or,

Method 2 - Glutinous Rice

5.         Heat oil in a wok and fry sausage and mushrooms. Season with light soy,

oyster sauce, ginger juice and black vinegar. Remove from the heat.

6.         Drain soaked rice and mix with cooked ingredients.

7.         Spread loosely in a dry shallow dish and steam the rice dry (without any

water added) over medium heat for 30 minutes or until grains are translucent

and chewy.

8.         When rice is cooked, cool quickly and stuff turkey neck cavity, pressing

rice firmly into place, securing neck flap with a cocktail stick.

For the Turkey (please cook turkey according to weight - approximately 15-20

minutes per pound, but please use thermometer to ensure its cooked

thoroughly)

9.         Rub body cavity of turkey with five spice powder and season the skin with

a little salt. Place star anise and cinnamon inside the body cavity and cook

to instructions on packaging.

10.       30 minutes before turkey is ready, using a pastry brush, baste the whole

turkey with a thick layer Kung Po Sauce.

11.       Continue cooking for 30 minutes on 170C -180C.

Remove from the oven and allow turkey to rest before serving.

Honey Glazed Roasted Root Vegetables with Sesame Seeds

Bring a hint of the Orient to the rich, seasonal flavours with this

delicious parsnip recipe, from Chef Lin at Wing Yip, the UK’s leading

Oriental grocer.

Ingredients:

454gm carrots

454gm parsnips

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp runny honey

2 Tbsp sesame seeds (available at Wing Yip superstores)

Pinch of Salt

Method:

1.         Preheat the oven to 425F/220C.

2.         Peel and cut the parsnips and carrots into even size lengths.

3.         Boil the carrots for approximately 3 minutes as they take longer to

cook.

4.         Drain the carrots and season both vegetables with a little salt.

5.         Heat the oil in a roasting tin in the oven and when the oil it hot, tip

the carrots and parsnips into the oil and mix to coat with the oil.

6.         Cook for approximately 30 – 40 minutes, turning them once during the

cooking process.

7.         Remove the roasting tin from the oven and squeeze honey evenly over the

vegetables, lightly mixing to coat evenly.

8.         Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

For online shopping and further menu ideas visit www.wingyipstore.co.uk