It's Beginning To Smell A Lot Like Chinese Turkey!! Get Your Chinese Turkey at Hop Woo. Chinatown, Los Angeles. Thanksgiving & Christmas Seasons.

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Tired of the usual Thanksgiving turkey routine? How about something a little Chinesey? What happens when you have your Thanksgiving dinner in a Chinese restaurant? You get sweet and sour turkey! No, just joking. But close! You can get Lemon Turkey! In fact you'll get 7 Courses of Turkey if you opt for Hop Woo BBQ and Chef Lupe Liang to prepare your festive fall feast! Here's the bountiful breakdown:

The fixins kick off with Hop Woo's Gravy, a thick ambrosial elixir of secret sauces all enhanced with the turkey's own liver and giblets (both roasted along side the turkey then chopped finely and cooked into the gravy).

Bread isn't big in China. Rice is, of course, so instead of stuffing the big bird with bread bits, Hop Woo uses rice. Turkey Rice has a taste some might equate with Hainan chicken rice, a popular Asian rice dish made from chicken oil and broth. Hop Woo's turkey rice stuffing includes bits of fried garlic peppered throughout which pushes the flavor envelope that much more.

The Magnificent 7:

1) Turkey and Tomato Noodle Soup, bright with tomato flavor and brimming with rice vermicelli, livens up the first round of this turkey feast. Sliced chunks of turkey meat drenched with the rich tomato broth, almost as thick as a sauce, make for a soup that definitely eats like a meal.

2) Turkey Lettuce Cups is a small pile of iceberg lettuce cups presented with a platter of stir-fried water chestnuts, black mushrooms, green onions, puffy rice noodles, green peppers and, of course, turkey. Plop a little of everything into a lettuce cup and munch away.

3) Moo Shu Turkey is like a Chinese burrito filled with scallions, wood ear and strips of turkey. It's a festive variation of the original and just as delicious, especially after a nice dip in the sweet and salty hoisin sauce.

4) Lemon Turkey! Yes, turkey lovers, now you can enjoy your favorite roast bird in the form of deep fried nuggets with a bowl of sweet and sticky lemon sauce.

5) Chinese Turkey Salad. Tossed with a traditional sesame dressing, this salad is pretty much like your basic Chinese chicken salad except for the gobble gobble part.

6) The Turkey Curry dish is a Chinese curry with stewed potatoes and carrots. This course will curry favor with any open-minded eater. Scoop a heaping spoonful of it over steamed rice for lip smacking good results.

7) Hop Woo's Chinese Turkey is wet brined for 4 hours in a fried salt, sugar and anise bath, parboiled in water, basted with red vinegar and honey, fan dried for several hours, and finally patiently roasted upside down so all of the juices stay where they belong — inside the turkey. This technique is not much different from how Hop Woo prepares its succulent roast duck that hang in the display case like crispy Christmas ornaments. The final result is supremely moist and flavorful turkey meat wrapped with golden brown, crackling, delicate skin.

For more info on seating, pricing or to-go orders, check out the links below or call the restaurant.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Hop Woo's 7 Courses of Turkey Dinner!

Listen to the KCRW Good Food segment about Hop Woo's 7 Course Turkey Dinner.

Hop Woo BBQ Restaurant
845 North Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2309
213.617.3038

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks for this gourmand article!
I'm crazy of Chinese food and even though I'm Italian this year I'll make a Chinese Christmas lunch with my Chinese friends!So your tips are really helpful!:)
Alessandra

http://www.radicaldiningsociety.com
Elise Thompson said…
We had Hop Woo's turkey last year! The rice stuffing was delish!
Elise Thompson said…
we had the best stuffing last year in our Chinese turkey!
rose said…
OMG, I missed that being in the northeast. the rice stuffing looks similar to 8 treasure stuffed duck; they are very tasty!Rose