After so many bowls of turkey kalguksu (칼국수; noodle soup usually made with chicken or seafood) after Thanksgiving, there has to be another way to take care of the turkey leftover. This is one of those 'lets-see-what-else-I-can-use-in-the-fridge' dishes, which also means the recipe is more of a guidance of what can be used, as found in my refrigerator. Feel free to revise with what you find in your refrigerator. The spicy turkey mix itself should be good as is for banchan (반찬; side dish) or for the filling of a wrap of your choice.
In this case, I found myself staring at two heads of Napa cabbage my sister bought to make kimchi this weekend. This turned out to be a special ingredient of the day as the green part of the outer leaves was wide enough to wrap the spicy turkey mix, which helps with a better presentation. The leaves are paper thin, but still holds its texture and moisture enough to balance out the turkey meat, part of which can be a bit dry.
1) If frozen, defrost 3 cups (C) of shredded turkey meat in the refrigerator overnight.
2) Sauté thinly sliced 1/2 medium sized onion, 1 clove of grated garlic and 1/4 teaspoon (ts) of salt in 2 tablespoons (TBSP) of sesame oil.
3) When the onion slices turn translucent, add 2 C of peeled, shredded carrot (about 1 small carrot) and 5 fresh, thinly sliced shitake mushrooms, 1 TBSP soy sauce and 1/4 cup of dashi (or stock or water).
4) When moisture is reduced to the bottom of the pot, add 3 cups of the shredded turkey meat. Add 2 TBSP of gochujang (고추장; Korean red chili paste) and stir to mix. If necessary, add 1/4~1/2 cup of dashi (or stock or water) to help heating up and softening the meat.
5) When the sauce is reduced and there is almost no liquid in the pot, add 5 stems of garlic chives (부추; bu chu) cut to about 2 inch (5 cm) length. Mix well. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
6) Take 7-8 outer leaves of Napa cabbage. Cut the green part of the leaves and rinse well in cold water. Microwave for 2-3 minutes until the leaves are wilted. Instead, you can also dip in salted, boiling water to wilt the leaves.
8) Place the spicy turkey mix on a leaf. Roll tightly and cut with a sharp knife.
KOREAN WORDS
turkey 칠면조 (chil myeon jo)
Napa cabbage 배추 (bae chu)
cabbage 양배추 (yang bae chu)
