Secretary of the Interior

Recently, a friend of my son asked if we have regular or Thai Thanksgiving. Deep down, he probably wished for something much more shocking like beef tongue or chicken feet or something. My answer to him was not nearly that exciting.  

Instead, I simply recited to him my traditional American Thanksgiving menu with all the standard fare of garlic-infused mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese, sautéed green beans with crispy bacon, smashed sweet potatoes with streusel topping, butter corn and whole-wheat rolls, apple crumb pie and pumpkin cheesecakes to follow. Disappointedly, he nodded and walked away.

What I didn’t get to tell him is the more exciting way to use the leftover turkey for the next day. My family usually likes to consume turkey in a sandwich with some kind of cheese in it. I often make up some special sauce to go with that. One year was cranberry chutney in a turkey and provolone panini. Another year was roasted tomato salsa on turkey and Monterey jack quesadillas. Last year was the most tantalizing of all, turkey in a spicy and fragrant yellow curry sandwich. Fiery, but comforting in the same bite!

This recipe will make about 4 to 6 sandwiches. The curried turkey mixture keeps in a refrigerator for up to a week or store in a freezer for up to 3 months.

Turkey and Yellow Curry Sandwiches
1 baguette, cut into desired length
Pepper jack cheese slices
4 cups leftover shredded turkey
1 can coconut milk
2-4 tablespoons red curry paste
1 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Leaf lettuce, cucumber slices, tomato slices
Chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste

In a medium size saucepan over medium-high heat, bring coconut milk to a boil. Add red curry paste and curry powder, stirring well. Season with fish sauce and stir in shredded turkey and cook for 5 more minutes. Turn off heat.

Split the baguette in half lengthwise and toast under the broiler until golden. Remove the top half of the bread and add cheese slices to the bottom half, let the cheese melt. Remove from heat and pile on the turkey mixture, layered with lettuce, cucumber, tomato and cilantro. Sprinkle with some lime juice, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.