Joe Ng
Executive chef, Chinatown Brasserie
Hong Kong–born chef Joe Ng has fond memories of Thanksgivings past, eating Chinese barbecue made in his outdoor garden in San Diego. But this year he’ll be too busy running the kitchen at Chinatown Brasserie to celebrate the holiday with his family. “Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for Chinatown Brasserie—many Chinese families like to go out for dim sum on the holiday, and we stay open for that,” he says. No Ng menu would be complete without his signature dim sum. For this meal, he nods to the occasion with lemongrass turkey rolls. Ng’s main course is a play on Peking duck. Ng stuffs his Peking turkey with Asian spices and roasts it until the skin is crispy. In a nod to mu-shu pork, he suggests wrapping the skin, meat, and scallions in a pancake smeared with hoisin sauce. Ng’s vegetable dishes—crisp-fried ginger string beans and smooth coconut yams—are a study in yin and yang. “I wanted each one to present a different texture in the mouth, which is an important part of Chinese cuisine,” says Ng. Instead of a traditional pie, Ng serves a Thanksgiving version of the Chinese bao: little buns of soft dough, which he fills, here, with a sweet pumpkin custard.
MENU
Lemongrass Turkey Rolls
BBQ Peking Turkey
Coconut Fried Yams
Wok-Fried Ginger String Beans
Pumpkin Bao
Lemongrass Turkey Rolls
6 tablespoons potato starch
2 pounds turkey, dark meat from the leg, cut lengthwise into strips, about 2 inches long by 1/2-inch wide
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon spicy ginger powder (available at Dynasty Supermarket)
5 lemongrass leaves, green parts only, minced
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus additional oil for deep-frying
1 packet Chinese spring-roll skins (20–25 per pack)
In a bowl, mix 3 tablespoons potato starch with 1 cup water, add the turkey, and soak for 1 hour. Place the meat in a colander and wash off the starch under cold water, stirring with your hand. Set aside to dry.
Transfer the turkey to a bowl and add the garlic, curry powder, ginger, lemongrass, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons potato starch, pepper, salt, and sugar, and stir until combined, adding 1/2 cup oil at the end. Mix thoroughly and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Place 1-inch-diameter log of turkey mixture down the center of a spring-roll skin, roll tightly, and brush the end flap with the remaining beaten egg to seal. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Heat 2 inches oil to 275 degrees in a large shallow pan, add the rolls in batches, and deep-fry for 7 minutes. Increase the temperature to 350 degrees, and fry until the skins are crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels, trim off the ends, and cut the rolls into 1-inch pieces. Serve with citrus sauce or hoisin sauce.
BBQ Peking Turkey
SPICE RUB
2 tablespoons kosher salt
cup spicy ginger powder (available at Dynasty)
1/2 cup chicken bouillon powder (available at Dynasty)
cup chopped cilantro stems
1/4 cup five-spice powder
1/2 cup ground-bean sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped shallots
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
MALTOSE SYRUP
1/4 cup maltose syrup (available at Dynasty)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup red Chinese vinegar
Combine the ingredients with 3 cups water in a medium-size saucepan and heat gently, taking care not to burn the maltose.
TURKEY
1 10–12 pound organic turkey
2 cups coarsely chopped scallions
1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup corn syrup or honey
32 Chinese pancakes (available in Chinese markets)
1 English cucumber, julienned
1 bunch red radishes, thinly sliced
2 bunches scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces and tops frayed
Rub the spice paste inside the cavity of the turkey and close both ends with toothpicks.
Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil and remove from heat. Submerge the turkey in the water, dipping it a few times over a 2-minute period; make sure the water does not enter the cavity of the bird. Ladle water over parts of the bird that cannot be submerged.
Place the turkey on a rack set over a sheet pan and brush the entire bird, including under the wings, with the warm maltose syrup. Allow to dry for 5–10 minutes, and then repeat with the syrup. Set the turkey, on the rack, in the refrigerator to let the skin dry, for 12–24 hours.
Remove turkey from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking, and place on platter. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine the scallions, carrots, onions, cilantro, and celery and scatter over the rack set on the sheet pan. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables, backbone facing down, and roast the bird for 1 hour. Increase the oven temperature to 450, turn the turkey breast side down, and cook for 1 hour.
Mix the corn syrup with 1/4 cup water, and when the turkey is removed from the oven, lightly brush the skin with the mixture.
TO SERVE
Separate the skin from the turkey and place crispy slices alongside carved meat, with the cucumber, radishes, and scallions on a platter.
Take a pancake, spread with hoisin sauce, and arrange a little skin, turkey meat, and vegetable garnish on top. Roll the pancake tightly, tucking in the ends.
HOISIN SAUCE
1 1/2 cups regular hoisin
12 garlic cloves, minced
4 medium shallots, minced
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan with 3/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Serve at room temperature.
Coconut Fried Yams
3 pounds yams, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut milk
Salt and white pepper
Place the yams in a steam basket set over boiling water and cook until soft. Melt the butter in a wok over medium heat, add sugar and cinnamon, and cook for a minute. Add the yams and stir until slightly brown. Add the coconut milk and cook together for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.
Wok-Fried Ginger String Beans
2 pounds string beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
8 thin slices peeled ginger, diced
1 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch ground white pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Blanch the beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain, and shock the beans in a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain when cool.
Heat the oil in a wok, add garlic and ginger, and stir-fry briefly. Add the onion and wine and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the string beans and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
Season with sugar, salt, and white pepper. Finally, add the soy sauce and stir-fry for an additional 1–2 minutes. Remove and serve.
Pumpkin Bao
FILLING
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons cake flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup coconut milk
8 ounces canned organic pumpkin
1/2 cup whole milk
In a bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cornstarch, and cake flour. Stir in the egg and, when combined, mix in the coconut milk.
Whisk the pumpkin purée in a small bowl until smooth. Add a third of the butter mixture to the pumpkin, then whisk the pumpkin into the butter mixture along with the milk. Pour the mixture into a double boiler and cook until the custard thickens, stirring constantly after the first 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
BAO
2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
Powdered sugar
Add the flour, yeast, milk, and sugar to the bowl of a food mixer and beat until combined. Add the butter and mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Add a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Cover the bowl with a cloth and allow the dough to proof for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size. On a floured surface, roll the dough into 1-inch-diameter logs and cut into pieces to form 1 1/2-inch-diameter balls. Flatten each ball of dough with a rolling pin, place about 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin mixture in the middle, and wrap the dough around the pumpkin, pinching the dough together to cover the pumpkin. Set on a sheet pan seam side down, about 1 1/2 inches apart.
Let the pumpkin balls proof again for 20–30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush egg over the buns. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, turning the trays after 5 minutes, until the dough is firm and golden. Sprinkle the top of each ball with powdered sugar and serve warm.
• Mexican Suckling Pig
• Chinese Peking Turkey
• French Guinea Hens
• Italian Turkey Legs
• African Harissa Turkey