What to do with leftover chicken and turkey: bang bang chicken

November 19, 2012November 19, 20121 Comment

One recipe I turn to quite often for leftover chicken or turkey is Nigella Lawson’s recipe for bang bang turkey salad. You can find it online here.

It’s delicious and spicy, and refreshing thanks to the spring onions and cucumber. You can serve it as part of a large party spread, using up other left overs like pie or quiche, and people will think you’ve gone to a lot of effort to create a brand new dish, when, really, you’re just sneakily feeding them your left overs. HO HO HO!

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp chilli bean sauce (buy in Asian groceries)
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1.5 tbsp black Chinese vinegar
2 tbsp water
250g shredded chicken or turkey
Shredded iceberg lettuce
20g chopped coriander
20g chopped mint
Half cucumber
6 spring onions

METHOD

Make the sauce by heating the groundnut oil, allowing to cool slightly, then adding the sesame oil, peanut butter, chilli bean sauce, caster sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and water.
Mix the sauce with the shredded chicken meat and lay it over a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce,which has been covered with the mint and coriander.
Finely slice the spring onions, and cut the cucumber into batons. Arrange on the platter.

Delicious, spicy, and satisfying!

What to do with leftover chicken and turkey: hoisin chicken buns

November 19, 2012November 19, 20124 Comments

This recipe is an adaptation of the hoisin chicken buns recipe from Cooking Light, by way of Cooking Cute.

To make this recipe, you first need a batch of white bread dough (for rolls) – you can either find fresh dough in the chiller cabinet of larger supermarkets (make sure it’s just plain old white bread dough, not focaccia or anything fancy like that!), or you can make a batch in your bread maker. This part is a faff, but the finished product is such an interesting and unusual way of using up leftover chicken, that I think it’s worth going to a little bit of extra effort – plus, these are portable, and perfect for lunches on the go!

INGREDIENTS

1 batch fresh bread dough (see above)
400g (approx) dark turkey / chicken meat
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 bunch spring onions, shredded finely

METHOD

Shred the chicken, and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Once you’ve made your dough, turn it out and cut it into eight pieces, and roll each piece into a size slightly bigger than your palm.
Place a spoonful of the chicken mix into the middle of the bun.
Pull four corners into the middle and pinch, then do the same again with the leftover tabs, which should fall in between the compass points of the tabs you just sorted out. (It’s helpful to rock the bun back and forth at this point to shape the top nicely.)
Set it on an oiled tray and put the rest together.

Cover and allow to prove for 20 mins in a warm place.
Preheat your oven to 190C and then brush the buns with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 15 mins, or until golden. You can also bake them for a shorter amount of time (12 mins or so) and then freeze them to bake again another day. (There are great instructions here for freezing and then reheating the buns at Cooking Cute.)

Allow to cool slighty, then eat!

What to do with leftover chicken and turkey: chilli chicken salad

November 18, 2012November 18, 20121 Comment

I may have mentioned before my love for the late Sheila Lukins’ USA Cookbook. Her chilli chicken salad is a delicious way of using up turkey or chicken from your left over holiday meal!

INGREDIENTS

Half cup mayonnaise
Half cup sour cream
2 tbsp lime juice
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/8 tsp cumin
4 cups shredded chicken or turkey
One diced red pepper
One diced green pepper
10 pitted black olives
2 finely sliced spring onions
2 tbsp chopped coriander
Bed of lettuce
Cayenne pepper (for dusting)
1 avocado, sliced
Bunch red grapes

METHOD

In a bowl, mix together everything from the mayonnaise to the cumin.
Add in the rest of the ingredients down to the spring onion.
Lay the salad on your bed of lettuce, and dust with cayenne pepper, and sprinkle with the coriander.
Serve with the avocado and red grapes.