We’ve made it through 8 weeks of physical distancing! Juggling work full time and taking care of Alivia has been a real challenge. Stephen and I have figured out a routine that’s manageable but some days are harder than others. Some days, we’re both on calls in the morning and I’m heating up lunch as I listen to team updates. Some days, my afternoon meetings run long and Stephen cooks dinner while Alivia finally gets her much anticipated iPad time. To help streamline our days, we try to keep lunch prep to less than 10 minutes and that usually involves heating up leftovers. We get a bit fancier at dinner, especially since Stephen has more time at home to plan our meals.
At the beginning of April, we ordered a whole turkey and converted it into more manageable portions for meals. We smoked the legs and plan to turn the breasts in a turkey pot pie, the bones into a soup (possibly ramen) and the thighs became delicious Turkey Karaage with a simple sweet and sour sauce. This has helped us reduce the number of grocery trips needed and we’ve also figured out a routine with a few local grocery delivery options. I like having turkey in our freezer as a lean protein option for dinner that takes on seasoning so well and is incredibly versatile.
Our usual sweet and sour recipe includes a couple of spices but the true key ingredients are ketchup and vinegar. So for this recipe we’ve kept it simple, but no less delicious, with pantry staples. The turkey karaage turned out so crispy, lightly battered, very flavourful and was a hit with Alivia as well. We chose to serve the turkey and sauce separate to ensure max crispiness but the two could easily be served mixed together as well.
For other delicious recipes featuring turkey, visit www.ThinkTurkey.ca
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Turkey Farmers of Canada. All ideas and opinions expressed are wholly mine.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 3 slices of ginger
- 1/4 cup of ketchup
- 3/4 cup of white vinegar
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 1 lb of deboned turkey thighs
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- Canola oil of frying (~2 cups)
Instructions
- In a small pot, heat 1 tbsp of oil on low heat and fry ginger until fragrant. Add ketchup to pot and cook until caramelized (around 1 min), stir constantly. Add vinegar and sugar to the pot and reduce until thickened.
- While the sauce is reducing, cut the deboned turkey thigh into 1 inch cubes.
- Combine egg, water, salt, pepper and flour to form a light batter.
- In a wok (or dutch oven) filled with 2-3 inches of canola oil, heat oil to 350°F. Dip and coat each turkey piece in batter and gently place into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165°F, around 5 minutes
- Serve with sweet and sour dipping sauce.
- For more flavour, add a star anise to the sauce while simmering.
- When adding ketchup to the oil, be careful that it might splatter.
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