Gingery Hoisin Turkey and Rice

(Hi, I'm Jillian)

Hi, I’m Jillian and I’m shit at meal planning. And by shit, I mean I don’t do it. So let’s jump right into the concoction I threw together and foisted upon my family last night, which was based entirely on what I had in the fridge/freezer: Gingery Hoisin Turkey and Rice.

We eat a lot of ginger. It’s my favourite aromatic. Which led me to buy a giant bag at Costco (I’d like to go deep on my thoughts on Costco, but you’re just meeting me, so I’ll hold back for now). So to prep, I:

• grated about 1.5 tbsp of ginger (if you buy organic ginger, you will be amazed at how much better it grates than conventional ginger).

• finely diced 3 shallots

• chopped 1 clove of garlic

• roughly chopped about 1.5 cups of snap peas

• juiced 2 limes (probably only needed one, whatever)

And I was listening to this:

Then, I made the rice. Rinsed 1.5 cups of jasmine rice until the water was no longer cloudy. I never used to rinse rice. I hate doing it. But it makes a difference. So, if you have the patience, rinse it. Added two cups of cold water and a pat of butter and set that baby to cook.

Next, I heated about 2 tsp of sesame oil and 2 tsp of grapeseed oil in a skillet over medium heat and sautéed the shallots until they just started to brown. Added garlic and ginger and continued to sauté until fragrant.

Then threw in the turkey; I left it in chunks to brown (heyyyy maillard reaction) before breaking up (I definitely could have let it brown longer). Once the turkey was cooked through, I added about 1 tbsp of hoisin sauce and a shot of chicken broth concentrate to loosen it up. Let it cook for a few minuets until the turkey took on some hoisin colour, then added the snap peas. Let them cook just until their green started to brighten, then took the skillet off the heat and stirred in lime juice (ground turkey never looks appetizing).

Served over jasmine rice.

My thoughts, which Codi seconded, could have used roasted peanuts and some cilantro. But I forgot we had peanuts, and we didn’t have cilantro. I have roasted some peanuts to add to my leftovers for lunch today. Also, if we didn’t have a six year old with a horrifically white-kid palate (who ate this without crying, so win?), I would have loaded it with chili. Which now reminds me to douse my leftovers with chili oil before heading to work.

Have a pleasant day, and don’t let the man get you down.