THE NEW COMFORT FOOD
The Christmas Turkey brings to life family gatherings. Such a warm and loving atmosphere of uncles, aunts and good friends. The turkey was enthusiastically embraced as a Christmas tradition and it was considered an “exotic bird”, especially by the upper crust in England during the 16th century. In 1950 turkeys became affordable for the middle class. By making a Thai turkey dish from leftovers may also be considered exotic – for now.
LET’S EAT…SIMPLE.
Turkey Leftovers
I make my leftover Thai turkey every year now. First, I make sure I buy a large enough turkey so I can get about a pound (.46 kilos) of leftover, tasty turkey meat. I have two great meals from one turkey every year. Too tired to cook? Freeze leftover turkey and make this delicious, nutritious meal another day! Make it once and you will enjoy the tantalizing flavours with rich creamy coconut milk. Your family will love it!
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INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 medium carrots, trimmed and shredded
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons easy home-made or jarred Thai Red Curry Paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons palm sugar or light brown sugar
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 pound left over turkey, cubed or strips
3 tablespoons chopped Thai basil leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Cooked jasmine rice, accompaniment
Sprigs fresh cilantro, garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large wok or saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add to the pan shallots, saute a few minutes
3. Add to the pan garlic and saute a few more minutes.
4. Add to the pan shallots, bell peppers, and carrots.
Easy Sliced Red Peppers
5. Stir-fry until soft (2 to 3 minutes).
6. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant (30 seconds to 1 minute).
7. Stirring, add the fish sauce and sugar, then add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
8. Simmer until thickened slightly (about 2 minutes).
9. Add the turkey, stirring (about 5 minutes).
10. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and cilantro.
Serve over jasmine rice, garnished with cilantro sprigs.
Optional: Add more greens such as leftover peas, spinach, bok choy, celery or kale.
Red Thai Curry Turkey with Jasmine Rice
In Thailand, POPULAR dishes using red curry paste cooked in coconut milk and are added to meat such as chicken, beef, pork, duck or shrimp are fabulous.
ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHOD
If you are using raw chicken or turkey, you can use a Pressure Cooker to prepare your Thai Red Curry in about 30 minutes
DID YOU KNOW? Turkey is an excellent source of lean protein and selenium and a good source of vitamin B6. Selenium is involved in thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems, immune function and DNA repair. Turkey is also rich in vitamin B3, which helps to control insulin and blood sugar.
FOOD TIPS: If you don’t have fish sauce handy you can use anchovies. My mum always had fish paste in the frig. She bought it in a squeezable tube and kept it in the door of the frig. She would also keep anchovies in a small glass jar tucked away in the frig. They really come in handy. Hard boiled eggs with anchovies on toasted rye bread was a typical treat in our house.
SPECIAL FESTIVE COLOURS for your Exotic Leftover Turkey. Add green peppers for a MERRY CHRISTMAS and enjoy the holidays with FESTIVE, ‘HEALTHY’ RED AND GREEN PEPPERS!
Simply Splendid Food 
Yummy!
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Nice to hear from you!Merry Christmas to you! Enjoy your turkey dinner!
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Ah-ha, fooled you – this year I made ham with an apple butter glaze. Not bad, if I don’t say so myself.
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Nice! 💖
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Super idea. I like it very much. Good one! Thx Eva! 🙂
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Great idea for leftovers!
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A great way to use leftovers. What a good idea especially since I like Thai curry a lot. The coconut milk is the key to this extraordinary taste!
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I’ve got a turkey breast in the freezer and this recipe sounds like a great way of using part of it.
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I meant to comment earlier, but I was all over this when I first saw it! I love curried dishes like this and it looks crave-worthy!
Mollie
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You have so many interesting posts. I must buy Jasmine rice. I’ve been on an arborio kick. I love risotto. One day I’ll expand my horizons and learn some Asian cuisine. This leftover turkey recipe looks great.
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Hello! I am commenting to let you know that I have nominated your blog for THE BLOGGER RECOGNITION AWARD. Here is the link to the article: https://thepurplealmond.com/2017/01/11/blogger-awards/
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This looks wonderful. I can’t wait to try it. BTW…A few of my nominees haven’t gotten the comments I left for them. I just wanted to make sure you knew I nominated you for The Blogger Recognition Award. Here is the link: https://thepurplealmond.com/2017/01/11/blogger-awards/ Let me know if you get the comment
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Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! Thank you for the nomination and thank you for visiting! I appreciate this recognition very much. I have created the blog post for the award. This is so exciting. It is an opportunity to recognize (only 15) my blog readers and non followers that I admire so much. You made my day!
Thanks again!
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Ommmm nom nom – this looks incredible. I love how you lay out your posts – I may borrow a few ideas, if that’s okay!
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“Borrowing or copying is the highest form of a compliment!” I’m flattered Thank you ♡
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This looks wonderful. What a creative approach to typical turkey.
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That sauce would be dynamite on just about anything! I can imagine it smothering cubes of crispy tofu right now… Yum!
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Looks so tasty, I’m making a similar curry dish tomorrow for dinner, can’t wait! 😀
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Curry is a heart warming soup! 💖
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Sounds delicious!
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