NICOLE PARTON’S FAVORITE RECIPES: Turkey Sukiyaki

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Turkey Sukiyaki

Have you ever given a Sukiyaki dinner party? I have! It’s a great way to host dinner because your guests do the cooking - and have fun doing it! I cooked this dish in a large skillet last night, but doing so reminded me how enjoyable it is to have your guests cook dinner themselves. If you like that idea - I’ve done it and it worked brilliantly - I recommend you do three things.

Buy yourself a butane-fueled Japanese cooker - or a couple, if your dinner table seats eight or more. I love these ultra-safe cookers and have two of them. They’re intended for use right at the dinner table; their base remains cool so you don’t need to worry about heat-marking any surface. So here’s my Japanese cooker!

This.

Not this.

Buy a heavy, broad-based, low-walled cooking pot. Cast iron is ideal. Asian grocery stores, some hardware stores, and online sources sell such cookers and pots. These broad, low-walled pots are natural partners for Japanese cookers. Now print, photocopy, and laminate one or two copies of this recipe (removing my chit-chat, of course), and you’re ready to have a party!

This delicious Turkey Sukiyaki recipe is tremendously easy to cook, but takes some fussing to prepare. If you have a large kitchen with an island, have everyone chop and measure the ingredients, but if your counter space is limited, do it yourself, early in the day.

Spread the prepared ingredients on platters and in a couple of small bowls beside the guest or guests doing the cooking at the dinner table, hand them the laminated recipe, and let them go to it!

Be sure you’re completely familiar with how your Japanese cooker works and how to insert the can of butane so your guests won’t lose confidence in you or the designated cook. If you like, the guest beside each cook can act as sous-chef, handing over the ingredients required.

This recipe requires less than 10 min. cooking time. Behind the scenes, flip your rice cooker on in the kitchen about 15 min. before the designated guest/s start cooking, so everything will be ready at the same time. Trust me: Everyone will love this economical dish, and no one will guess you’re serving leftover turkey.

And remember … You don’t have to give a party to enjoy this great dish right out of a skillet, as I served it last night!

Turkey Sukiyaki:

1 lb. (454-to-500 g) cooked turkey, slivered to equal 4 c. (see Note)

2 tbsp. (10 mL) lemon juice

¼ tsp. (1.2 mL) finely ground pepper

2 tbsp. (30 mL) canola oil

2 c. (500 mL) sliced mushrooms

½ c. (125 mL) chopped celery, in ½-in. pieces

¼ c. (60 mL) chopped green onions

⅓ c. (80 mL) chopped red bell pepper (“capsicum”)

1-½ c. (375 mL) bean sprouts, rinsed and blotted dry

¼ c. (60 mL) sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2 c. (500 mL) cooked rice

2 c. (500 mL) fresh baby spinach, large stems removed

Soy sauce, to taste

To Prepare the Seasoned Broth:

½ c. (125 mL) turkey or chicken broth (see Further Note)

1-1/2 tbsp. (23 mL) granulated sugar

1 tbsp. (15 mL) soy sauce

2 tsp. (10 mL) mirin or dry sherry

Combine and set aside. In small bowl, sprinkle turkey, tofu (or both) with lemon juice, seasoning to taste with pepper. Cover, refrigerate, and set aside. On medium-high setting, heat oil in large, heavy skillet or work. Combine and add mushrooms, celery, green onions, red bell pepper, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, and onion. Stir-fry 2 min.

Add and stir-fry turkey and/or tofu until heated through, about 1 min. Pour in seasoned broth and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, spinach, and bean sprouts. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 min., until mixture is heated through, removing cover to stir occasionally. Pass plates to serve, with each diner seasoning to taste with soy sauce. Serves 6.

Note: Last night, I substituted tofu for half the turkey in this recipe. It was excellent! You could certainly serve this as an entirely vegetarian dish, if you prefer.