refreshingly light leftovers: ginger 3-flavour turkey salad

ginger 3-flavour turkey salad | everybody likes sandwiches

Years ago when I was first introduced to Thai food, I remember seeing a menu item listed as “three-flavour sauce”. At the time I was vegetarian and the dish with that name involved fish, so I didn’t see the need to investigate further to what those 3 flavours might be. A few years later when my vegetarian days were done with, I went ahead and tried the fish dish with the mysterious sauce. It was sweet and sour and salty and I loved it.

I’m sure the traditional recipe calls for tamarind for the sour, palm sugar for the sweet and fish sauce for the salty. However, when I found myself with a bevy of vegetables from our CSA and some leftover turkey from our Thanksgiving meal on Sunday, I decided to play around with those 3 traditional flavours for the dressing. Rice vinegar, soy sauce and honey are the stand-ins and make this meal no less enjoyable. However, the thing that really made this dish stand out is the ginger. I used a very healthy amount of freshly minced ginger and that provided a very delicious pow-to-the-tastebuds effect. Hello, ginger! We eagerly went back for seconds wanting more of those flavours in our mouths. There’s also a good deal of heat from the sriracha sauce (aka ‘cock sauce’) and the diced birds eye chilis, but you can play with those flavours how you like.

ginger 3-flavour turkey salad | everybody likes sandwiches

This made great use of our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. After a day or two of heavy meals this light dish was sweet relief! It was so crunchy from all the vegetables and the colourful sweet peppers and crispy cucumbers added a welcome refreshing element. Diced cherry tomatoes and cilantro would be good here as would some cold vermicelli rice noodles for additional heft. And of course, I used turkey here since I had it on hand, but cooked chicken breast is a worthy sub.

elsewhere: Head to Poppytalk for a simple weeknight meal, perfect for these cool evenings – spicy southwest chili with arugula. You will also find a wonderfully filling breakfast that screams comfort and fall with a bowl of creamy apple cinnamon oats.

ginger 3-flavour turkey salad | everybody likes sandwiches

7 comments to “refreshingly light leftovers: ginger 3-flavour turkey salad”

  1. 1
    Joanne   October 12, 2012 at 3:51 am

    I absolutely adore thai food because of how it combines those three flavor profiles in such a tasty way! So I’m sure I’d love this dressing!

  2. 2
    Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe   October 12, 2012 at 12:05 pm

    So creative and different, plus I love anything with a good kick of ginger! Unfortunately, as I ate turkey dinner at my parents’ place, I did not come home with any leftovers. However, I would love to try this with chicken!

  3. 3
    Julie   October 13, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    I made the salad without any chicken or turkey and it was delicious. I cut out the hot sauce and the chilis to cater to my wimpier taste buds. Very refreshing and I’ll make it again!

  4. 4
    Sues   October 13, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    Thai food is my all time favorite. And I love how fresh this looks with all the bright colors!

  5. 5
    Joanne (Bijoux)   October 15, 2012 at 9:32 am

    We didn’t do turkey this Thanksgiving so there are no turkey leftovers but I’m sure this salad won’t disappoint especially with that awesome sounding dressing!! Mmmm!

  6. 6
    kickpleat   October 15, 2012 at 9:57 am

    Thanks Joanne, the dressing is pretty wonderful here and would be great with or without the turkey!

    Amanda, I hope you do try it with chicken – such a refreshing salad with a kick!

    Julie, glad you enjoyed it, wimpy tastebuds and all 🙂

    Thai food is wonderful, Sues and yes, this is colorful and tasty!

    Joanne, I think this would be good as a vegetarian salad or with chicken. It’s a tasty one!

  7. 7
    Joy   November 21, 2022 at 8:20 pm

    Just a ten-years-overdue note of gratitude to you for sharing this recipe! I’ve made it each year since 2012 on the day after Thanksgiving and I always look forward to it. Thank you!

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