15 Simple Japanese Style Tips for Turkey Leftovers

Hello Kitty in the famous Thanksgiving Day Macy's Parade
Photo Credit
 

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are enjoying (or enjoyed) the American holiday with loved ones and family. After all the preparation, clean up and shoving the remains of the grand feast in the refrigerator are done, my guess is that most are ready for simplicity. Here are 15 simple Japanese-style tips for turkey leftovers. Most of the Japanese products mentioned are readily available at supermarkets and/or health food markets or online. (And may even be on sale on Cyber Monday.)

1. Bento Lunch Box

Pictured is a little salad with turkey, accompanied by wasabi peas, petite or chopped carrots and bamboo shoot (or whatever veggie you like.) And, of course, rice sprinkled with sesame seeds. In addition to the nutrients found in sesame seeds, the pickled plum studding the rice is also good for your health. For details, please read the post I did for AllRecipes.com entitled The Ninja Baker’s Plum Sweet Memories and Recipes. The dessert in plastic wrap is a classic red bean cake stuffed in pounded rice (dyed pink.)

2. Croquette: (Koroke)

Do you have mashed potatoes, turkey leftovers and a few breadcrumbs? Perfect. Dice up some meat. Mush it into your mashed potatoes along with diced scallions or any other pleasing veggies. Form little oval pancakes. (Great project for the kids.) Coat the potatoes with breadcrumbs (the ideal is panko), flour and egg. Drop carefully into a skillet with oil which is slightly bubbly. Fry until golden brown. For further reference, Nami-san of JustOneCookbook.com has a great recipe with shitake mushrooms on her site.

3. Turkey Soba

Using leftovers from the feast, add turkey, carrots, fresh peas to prepackaged udon soba noodles. Or make dashi soup stock (seasoning with soy sauce as desired) before adding soba noodles or use your favorite soup. The fun of leftovers is the creativity it inspires, n’est-ce pas?

4. Corny Miso Ramen

My husband, David, loves corn (non-GMO corn, of course.) So, we always have an abundance of the vegetable. An ensemble of turkey, corn and ramen noodles in a single bowl brings harmony to our home. It’s yummy and leaves very few pots, pans and other accoutrement to be cleaned. Love to see your symphonic creations in the comments box.

5. ? Nabe Turkey

Have you ever been served sukiyaki in an exquisite pot? Technically speaking, sukiyaki belongs in the nabe pot category of cooking. (Nabe also means saucepan.) Simply gather the veggies, which accompany sukiyaki beef and use turkey instead. You can also use Shinobu-san’s Little Japan Mama recipe. Or steam and sprinkle with soy sauce. Recommended ingredients: Chinese cabbage (shredded into bite-size pieces), enoki or any sort of mushrooms and mizuna (potherb mustards) or any other green leafy item like kale.

6. The Ninja Baker’s Childhood Chahan (aka Fried Rice)

Chahan or fried rice is a Japanese comfort food. My childhood nanny, Kawaji-san’s recipe is the best. Of course, I’m not biased. 

• Coat a frying pan (preferably non-stick) with canola or vegetable oil.
• Heat the pan over a low to medium flame whilst whisking a single egg.
• Drop the beaten egg into the pan and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon.
• It should resemble scrambled eggs.
• Add two Japanese rice bowls of rice (approximately 2 and 3/4 cups) plus already cooked peas and carrots.
• You can also add chopped onions and/or sprinkle onion powder into the mixture.
• Keep stirring.
• Add shredded turkey.
• Stir again.
• Serve hot. Garnish with diced scallions.

7. Spicy Stew: Japanese Bibinba / Korean Bibimbap
with American Star Turkey Cut-Outs

Korean daytime dramas are popular in Japan. And so is bibinba – a spicy mix of veggies and meat. To temper the heat, the dish is often served with a poached egg in Japan. But turkey can serve the same purpose. If you live in a cosmopolitan area, your Asian market will offer anything from ready-made sauces with vegetables to microwavable bibinba in  plastic bowls. (I opted for the boil in water ready-made sauce.) But if you have the time and energy, try the recipe posted at the Book of Yum.

8. Turkey Onigiri Rice Balls

The sticky white rice used to make Japanese onigiri rice balls is a perfect complement to your perfectly cooked turkey. Traditionally onigiri are covered in dried seaweed (nori.) But if you are shy about seaweed, you can simply wrap a single strand around the perimeter of the rice ball. Or skip it all together.  Pictured is a turkey stuffed onigiri and one with salmon roe. Here’s a short video of how to make Japanese rice balls. (P.s. This was an audition tape for the Oprah Winfrey Network when she was looking for show ideas and personalities.)

9. Tofu Spinach Turkey Miso

If you are in the mood for lighter fare on the day after. A bit of spinach, squares of tofu and a slice of turkey in miso soup are satisfying and delish. Miso paste as well as instant soup packets are easily attainable. If you want to make homemade soup, add miso to taste to soup stock called dashi. Click here for the dashi recipe. (I usually add 2 or 3 tablespoons of miso depending on the pungency of the paste.)

10. Inari Sushi with Turkey

Inari sushi pouches are made of fried tofu. After a 5-minute stint in boiling water, stuff them with rice and eat plain or add anything else that brings on the smiles. Items like leftover turkey. You can also use your leftover French green beans. Scrambled egg bits are a nice topping, too. If access to a Japanese market is a challenge, you can purchase the pouches online by clicking here.

11. Gyoza Dumplings

See La Fuji Mama’s recipe for gyoza dumplings which is featured on the Steamy Kitchen, home of the vivacious food connoisseur, columnist and recipe developer, Jaden. Substitute ground or finely shredded turkey for the pork and use won ton wrappers to make a perfectly scrumptious Japanese lunch, snack or dinner gyoza treat.

12. Turkey Salad with Japanese Mayo and/or Wasabi Dressing

Another lovely use for turkey leftovers is turkey salad with the fixings just the way you like. And for an Asian twist, squeeze a bit of Japanese mayonnaise on top. The texture is creamier and somewhat sweeter than its American cousin. If you crave a tangier dressing, go for wasabi dressing. TheFind.com has a great selection. Here’s the link to purchase the popular salad topper. 

13. Turkey with Chinese Plum Sauce

Chinese take-away and the flavor inside those cute little boxes are popular around the globe. Japan is not an exception. So, bring out the chopsticks: Substitute cranberries for Chinese plum sauce and enjoy!

14. Japanese Curry

So easy and satisfying. Pop a packet of Japanese curry sauce in the microwave or in boiling water. Add extra veggies, if desired, and toss in bits of turkey. Serve over steaming white, brown or wild rice. Garnish with a bit of pickled ginger or just enjoy plain.
If you are unable to find Japanese curry sauce, the web has many options for you. Japanese Kitchen has an array of curry sauces for sale online in the UK. Amazon also has an impressive display for those in the USA.

15. Compassion Gifts
Photo Credit

The Japanese, in my experience, are well-versed in the art of compassion. And so are Americans and Brits and, and, and…It’s a human thing, right? How about taking your leftovers to a shelter or to a street where you know homeless people congregate? Also, please check out Liz Berg’s That Skinny Chick Can Bake Helping Hands post about assisting those who survived Storm Sandy. After all, the spirit of Thanksgiving is about being grateful and sharing the abundant overflow.

Wishing you an abundance of joy and a myriad of reasons to be grateful.