If you’ve ever been lucky enough to wander through a Taiwanese night market in Chiayi county, you would recognize the smell of hū jī ròu fàn—Taiwan’s beloved turkey rice—hitting you long before you see the stall. It’s humble, comforting, and wildly satisfying for something so simple: tender shreds of turkey over hot rice, drenched in a glossy garlic-soy sauce and finished with crispy shallots. Taiwanese Turkey Rice is a popular dish, year round. Americans may only invite turkey to the table once a year, but in this small area of Taiwan, it’s an everyday superstar—juicy, savory, and nowhere near as fussy as our holiday bird.
And I’m not going to lie, this is a doozy of a recipe with lots of steps. But, I’m taking the liberty of assuming that you are facing down a mountain of leftover turkey, and Taiwanese Turkey Rice is an absolutely transcendent way to make use of it. I give you all the steps to make each element from scratch, but this is a choose your own culinary adventure. Have leftover turkey you want to use up? Great, you get to skip cooking the turkey. Don’t want to make stock from scratch? Don’t! Use your favorite store bought stock. Too tired from all the Thanksgiving chaos to fry shallots? No problem, buy fried shallots. You can make every part of this dish from scratch, or you can streamline it and still have that deeply comforting, savory bowl of turkey goodness, so let’s get into it.
What is your favorite part of traveling? Mine is exploring local foods and racking up an embarrassingly long list of places to eat. I’ve been known to make trips solely for the purpose of eating- hello Austin barbecue! And to get ready for a trip, I like to get inspired by binge watching travel shows, YouTube videos, clips I’ve saved, you get the idea. I know, don’t judge. So when I scrolled across a show about Asian street food, I knew I was about to lose a couple hours. And how interesting that Taiwan of all places would have street food using a bird that most people think of as the quintessential American poultry-huge, bland, and mass produced. Well color me intrigued. Tell me more.
Although some people think Dutch colonists are responsible for introducing turkeys initially in the 17th century, the more likely reason for the proliferation of the turkey in Taiwan is the United States. After World War II, American troops were stationed in Taiwan and as part of US aid, taught farmers to breed these large birds to boost nutritional intake within the population. Either way, it’s another fascinating example of foreign foods being absorbed and changed to meet local needs.
When I’m making this Taiwanese Turkey Rice during the year, and not trying to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, I start by dry brining some turkey thighs. This creates tender, more flavorful meat. I rub salt and white pepper on both sides of the things:
I let them chill up to a day on a wire rack (so air can circulate) in the fridge. Then I start making the turkey stock. Making stock is so much easier than you think, I promise. If you are using leftovers and still have the turkey carcass, use it here instead, and make good use of something that would otherwise be waste.
Add the turkey, scallions, ginger pieces, star anise, and smashed garlic cloves to a large stockpot:
Add water to cover the turkey:
Bring to a boil and skim off any protein and foam that cooks off.
Lower the heat, partially cover and simmer for 75 minutes, occasionally skimming to remove foam. There will be a lot of fat that also rises, but I actually leave the fat so I can use it later in the recipe to fry the shallots.
Take out the cooked turkey and strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve:
Let the turkey cool enough to handle, then shred the meat with your hands or 2 forks. You can either save the skin to render fat for frying the shallots, or if you’re skipping that step you can either discard it or chop it up and mix it with the meat.
Now we’re going to do one of those completely option steps-render the turkey skin and use the fat to fry shallots. If you want to skip this entirely and use purchased fried shallots, your Taiwanese Turkey Rice will still be delicious.
Start by putting the strained broth through a fat separator.
Keep the stock, you will need it to cook the rice and make the sauce.
Put the turkey skin in a small dry skillet and heat over medium heat with any fat you’ve poured off from the stock. At first, the skillet will bubble furiously as any remaining water from the turkey skin and the fat from the stock cook off. But once the water is gone, the bubbling will stop:
Cook for about 30 minutes to render all the fat out of the turkey skin. The skin will be dry and crunchy when done:
Pour off the fat in the skillet. You will need half a cup of rendered fat to fry the shallots. If you’re short, use a neutral oil like avocado or canola to make up the difference.
Thinly slice the shallots with either a mandolin or a knife:
Heat the rendered fat and add half the shallots, you don’t want to overcrowd the pan:
Fry until golden brown, about 4-7 minutes. At first the pan will sizzle from the moisture in the shallots, but then the bubbling will stop as the shallots crisp and caramelize. If you see your shallots turning dark brown, turn your heat down and maybe take the pan off the heat for a minute to lower the heat of the oil.
Drain the fried shallots and repeat with the other half. Hold on to the rendered fat though, we’re going to use that in the sauce.
Once all of the shallots are fried it’s time to make the sauce. Heat a tablespoon of the reserved fat and then add the minced garlic, cooking until fragrant, about 20 seconds:
Add the wine:
Add the soy sauce:
Add the sugar:
Adding white pepper:
Add 1 1/2 cups stock:
Add half the fried shallots:
Bring the sauce to a boil:
Lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced by half and glossy:
Make the rice while the sauce is reducing with 2 cups of the stock. (If you didn’t make the stock use a store bought one). Once the rice is done, it’s time to put your masterpiece together! Ladle the rice into serving bowls:
Add the turkey on top:
Drizzle sauce on top:
Load them up with those heavenly fried shallots. Don’t be shy, these glorious crispy bits are part of Taiwanese Turkey Rice’s magic:
Add a pop of color with some chopped scallions:
Whether you decided to tackle each component of this recipe from scratch, or you made excellent use of leftovers and store bought ingredients, you are going to be thrilled with the rich, indulgent flavor of this Taiwanese classic. And what a great way to try something familiar like turkey, with all new flavors. If you love it as much as I do, you can also make it throughout the year using chicken. I can’t wait to hear how yours turned out, and to see your bowls tagged @funkyasiankitchen.
Looking for more ways to use up leftover turkey? Check out my Turkey Congee, these Croquettes, of my popular Turkey Salad!
Taiwanese Turkey Rice
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 80 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 4-6 1x
- Category: entrees
- Cuisine: Taiwanese
Ingredients
For the Turkey:
- 1 (3-4-lb.) skin-on, bone-in turkey thigh (you can use breast if preferred) or 2 lbs. leftover cooked turkey plus turkey carcass (if you’re making the broth)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ cup store bought chicken broth (if you are not making the broth)
If making the broth:
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 scallions, trimmed and cut into 2” pieces
- 2 (2″) piece ginger, peeled, sliced ¼” thick
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 whole star anise
If making fried shallots:
- ½ cup high-quality lard, turkey fat, duck fat, or neutral oil
- 5 shallots (about 6 oz.), shaved on a mandoline or very thinly sliced by hand
For the Sauce:
- Fried shallots from above recipe or 1 cup store bought fried shallots plus 1 Tablespoon neutral oil
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 Tablespoons michiu (Taiwanese rice wine), shaoxing wine, or sake
- 2 Tablespoons light colored soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1 ½ cups turkey broth from recipe above or store bought chicken broth
For the Rice:
- 2 cups raw rice
- 2 cups turkey broth from recipe above or store bought chicken broth
Garnish:
- Minced scallion
Instructions
If starting with leftover turkey and you want to make the broth with carcass:
Break the carcass into manageable pieces that will fit into a large pot. Add the scallions, ginger, star anise, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover with 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered with a lid, skimming foam from the surface as needed. Do not skim the fat if you want to use it to fry the shallots. Simmer for 60 minutes.
Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heatproof bowl; discard solids. If you want to use the fat from the stock, either spoon it off, or pour it into a separator first and pour it off. Set it aside for frying the shallots. Pour 1 ½ cups stock into a large heatproof measuring glass and set aside for sauce; reserve remaining stock for cooking the rice (2 cups) and re-heating the turkey (½ cup).
Shred turkey with a fork or your hands, removing any skin or chop it up and use it with the meat if you prefer). Set aside or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Brine the turkey if using raw
If using a raw turkey, sprinkle turkey all over with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon white pepper; place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. (This dry brine will result in more tender, flavorful meat.)
Cook the turkey and make the stock
Place the turkey, scallions, ginger, star anise, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a stockpot. Pour in 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium, partially cover with a lid, skim foam from surface as needed, and simmer for 75 minutes. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let it sit until cool enough to handle. Shred turkey with a fork or your hands, removing and discarding skin if you are not going to render the fat for frying the shallots (or chop it up and use it with the meat if you prefer).
Strain the stock through a mesh sieve into a large heatproof bowl; discard solids. If you want to use the fat from the stock, either spoon it off, or pour the stock into a separator, letting it sit for a couple minutes until the liquid and fat separate. Then pour off the stock and the remaining liquid will be the fat. Set it aside for frying the shallots. You will need 1 ½ cups of stock for the sauce, 2 cups for the rice, and ½ cup to heat up the turkey if you need to reheat it.
Make the turkey fat** (completely optional, you can also use any saved fat or neutral oil)
Peel the cooked skin off of the turkey and place it into a small dry skillet.
Then add the fat from the stock into the skillet with the skin. Turn the heat to medium. At first the skillet will bubble as any remaining water evaporates. Once the bubbling stops, turn the heat to low and cook slowly. The turkey skin will crisp as the fat renders. This takes about 30 minutes. Take the turkey skin out and either eat or discard. You will need ½ cup of fat. Use neutral oil to make up any difference.
Fry the shallots (also optional)*:
Heat lard/oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add ½ of the shallots and fry, using chopsticks or tongs to tease apart into separate pieces. Continue to cook, until golden brown, about 4-7 minutes total. If your shallots are browning too quickly, turn the heat down and pull the pan off the heat for a minute to cool it off.
Drain the shallots in a fine-mesh sieve set over a heatproof bowl. Repeat with the remaining shallots, reserving the oil to make the sauce. Transfer shallots to paper towels to finish draining; set aside. Shallots will crisp as they cool.
Make the Sauce:
Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved shallot oil (or regular oil if you did not make the fried shallots) over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant and just starting to color, about 20 seconds. Add the michiu wine (or shaoxing which is easier to find), soy sauce, sugar, ground white pepper, half of the fried shallots, and the reserved 1 ½ cups stock (if you haven’t made the turkey stock use chicken broth instead). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced by half and glossy, about 25 minutes.
Cook the rice either using a pot or rice cooker (Pot method is below):
Rinse the rice and drain it, placing it in a heavy pot (I put the rice in the pot and fill with running water to cover the rice. Swish the rice around with your hands. Repeat twice more, draining the water.) Add 2 cups of the reserved stock or chicken stock. Let the rice sit for 30 minutes. Put the rice on the stove and bring the rice to a simmer over medium heat. Cover with a tight fitting lid and lower the heat to medium low. Cook for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to low and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice sit for 10 minutes.
Reheating cold turkey if you’ve made it ahead:
Put the turkey in a skillet/pan and drizzle with ½ cup turkey stock. Cover with a lid. Heat on low until the turkey is warmed through, about 15 minutes. You can also microwave the turkey for a couple minutes.
Plate the turkey rice:
Use a spatula to divide the rice among bowls and pile shredded turkey onto. Spoon 3 tablespoons of sauce over each bowl and top with reserved fried shallots and a little minced scallion.
Keywords: rice, turkey, Taiwanese, leftovers, Thanksgiving, comfort food,
