Hot and Sour Turkey Wing Soup

*This Hot and Sour Turkey Wing Soup post is sponsored by Turkey Farmers of Canada and ThinkTurkey.ca

It is my absolute pleasure to say that I have once again teamed up with Turkey Farmers of Canada and thinkturkey.ca to create a cool and unique turkey recipe. What did I come up with? How about Soy and Chili Sauce Roasted Turkey Wings in Classic Hot and Sour Soup. What could be better than that?

Why turkey wings?

The reason I chose turkey wings for this is that they are versatile, inexpensive, and big enough that one wing when split can feed two people. The two wings I used (two drums, two flats) was just over $4. You really can't beat that price.

About the recipe.

In some ways, this is actually two recipes rather than one because the wings are amazing on their own with the soy and chili marinade. But, when added to the soup you won't believe how good they can be.

The wings are paired with a classic Chinese hot and sour soup. This soup comes from the Sichuan Province in China which is famous for its spicy food. Before the introduction of chilies to China in the 15th or 16th century, all the spiciness came from the Sichuan Peppercorn. This Sichuan Peppercorn is not really hot like chilies or as strong as black pepper. Instead, they warm and numb the mouth which creates this really pleasant feeling. Because most people don't have Sichuan Peppercorns in their cupboard I used black pepper and Sambal Chili sauce to create the same kind of experience.

Keep in mind that if you aren't great with spice you can easily reduce the amount of Sambal in the recipe. This soup isn't supposed to burn your face off with spice. It was originally created as a peasant dish to warm people up in the cold of winter. So, as long as there is enough heat to warm you, it's perfect.

The Egg

One thing you may find odd about this soup if you have never had hot and sour soup before is the addition of the beaten egg. Admittedly, it makes the soup look kind of weird. But, the eggs add a very important textural and flavour element and the soup just wouldn't be hot and sour soup without it.

Okay, enough preamble. This is...

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Step 1 - Turkey Wings

To make the soup we actually have to first make the turkey wings. Combine 2 tablespoon of soy sauce and 2 teaspoon of Sambal Chili Sauce toss the wings with the sauce and let sit for 20 minutes. While the wings are marinating, pre-heat the oven to 400°f.

Once the oven is hot and the wings have marinated, roast them on a rack set over a roasting pan for 25 minutes.

While the turkey wings are marinating and cooking get all the other ingredients ready to go. That way when the turkey wings are done, the soup can come together very quickly.

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Mushrooms

Generally, for hot and sour soup dried shitake mushrooms and dried black fungus are used. I couldn't find either of those things, and you likely won't be able to either so why try and use them in the recipe? Instead, I used fresh shitake mushrooms, which are in most big grocery stores.

For the shitakes, I removed and discarded the stems, then thinly sliced them. I marinated these for 20 minutes in a combination of 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and ½ a cup of warm water. The mushrooms along with the liquid get added into the soup later to help flavour it.

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Flavourings

Rather than just haphazardly adding flavourings into the soup, it is common to mix all the flavourings together beforehand. This gives you a bit more control.

Hot and sour soup is typically thickened just slightly with cornstarch or tapioca starch. I used 2 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoon warm water. To the cornstarch and water, I added ¼ cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup rice vinegar (white vinegar will work), 1 tablespoon Sambal Chili sauce, ¼ teaspoon each black pepper, kosher salt, and sugar. I mixed this all together and set it aside until it was needed.

Remember to stir this mixture before adding it to the soup. Otherwise, all the cornstarch will be stuck to the bottom of the container and the soup won't have the right consistency.

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Vegetables

The vegetables I used for this soup are 1 small-ish carrot, 1 bunch of green onions, 1 small-ish onion, and 1 baby bok choy. I separated the green onions into whites and greens. The greens, which are softer than the whites will be used for garnishing the soup nearer the end of cooking. The whites will be cooked into the soup like regular onions for flavour.

To prep the vegetables I peeled and sliced the onion, and peeled and cut the carrot into match sticks. Then, I cut the bok choy in half and thinly sliced it. And, I cut the green onion whites into 1 cm pieces.

If you don't have bok choy don't worry about. I mostly just used it to add a bit more vegetables and because I had it in my fridge. You can leave it out completely or substitute it for another mildly flavoured green like Nappa Cabbage.

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Ginger and Garlic

For the next step, I minced about 2 tablespoon of garlic and grated about 2 tablespoon of ginger.

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Green Onion Tops and Cilantro

Next up are the green onion tops and some cilantro. I sliced all the green onion into thin slices then chopped about ¼ cup of cilantro. This will be added to the soup at the last minute as a garnish and to add a nice fresh flavour.

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Noodles

The second last element of the soup is rice noodles. This isn't really that traditional but I like to add them because they add a nice texture and they make the soup a bit more filling. I used about 50 g of dried noodles, just about a handful. I soaked them in very hot tap water for 10 minutes and then just roughly chopped them into smaller pieces.

The noodles aren't fully cooked, but once they get added into the hot soup, they will finish softening very quickly.

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Beat the eggs

The final step before actually making the soup is to beat 2 eggs. That's it. Now, you can leave the eggs out of this, again I know they make the soup look a little odd, but I highly recommend leaving them in. They really make the soup what it is.

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Making Hot and Sour Turkey Soup

Okay, everything is ready to go and now it's time to make the soup!

The first step is to heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once the pot is hot add in 2 teaspoon of sesame oil along with the carrot, onion, green onion, and bok choy. Cook this for 2-3 minutes before adding in the ginger and garlic. Cook for 1 more minute.

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Mushrooms and Turkey wings

After the ginger and garlic have cooked for about a minute add in the soaked mushrooms along with the liquid. Bring this to a boil, add in the turkey wings and 3 cups of hot water. Bring the soup to a boil

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Sauce, and Simmer

Stir the flavouring liquid to redistribute the cornstarch. Then stir it into the soup. Bring the soup back to the boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

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Noodles and Eggs

Once the soup has simmered for 10 minutes remove the lid from the pot and add in the rice noodles. Let the noodles heat for 2 minutes. Now, gently stir the soup as you pour in the beaten egg. Let the egg cook for about 1 minute then add in the green onion tops and cilantro and gently stir.

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Let's Eat

Just like that the soup is ready to serve.

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Conclusion

With fall here and the days getting a bit colder a soup like this is exactly what we all need. I can not suggest strongly enough that you give this soup a try. The Turkey Wings and the Flavourful Soup are a perfect match that you are going to love.

Thank you to Turkey Farmers of Canada and Thinkturkey.ca for sponsoring this post. I would have never come up with this recipe otherwise and I am so happy that I did.

A few months ago I made Chipotle Lime Turkey Tacos which you can and should check out if you haven't yet. They have become my go-to taco recipe. And for even more great turkey recipes remember to check out ThinkTurkey.ca

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