Asian-Inspired Sloppy Joes

An unadapted version of this Asian-inspired Sloppy Joe recipe was shared with me a number of years ago by a dear friend Jill - she's a wonderful cook and we have similar flavor palates, for the most part.  I say for the most part because we don't share a love for every ingredients.  Cilantro for example - I love to serve these sloppy joes with lots of fresh cilantro, but she absolutely detests it.  Spicy heat is another area where we don't always see eye to eye.  I like things a bit spicier than she does so if you tend to not like as much spice as I do, go ahead and reduce the cayenne pepper by half (or eliminate it completely). 

Let me show you how these sloppy, gingery, yummy sandwiches are made.

Start with a mixture of minced red bell peppers, onions, and celery.

Saute the veggies in a bit of canola oil until softened and the onions turn translucent.

Done.

Next add ground turkey and cook until no pink remains, stirring frequently to break up clumps. 

I've made this recipe with ground beef, but ground turkey actually works better, much better - the flavors of the ground turkey and sauce are beautiful together. 

Speaking of the sauce, here's the cast of characters (clockwise from left to right):  brown sugar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, creamy peanut butter, garlic powder, cayenne powder, and ground ginger.

So here's how the ground turkey should look when it's cooked through.

Add all the sauce ingredients and stir well to combine. 

Simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat. 

Now this part wasn't included in the original recipe, but Jill highly recommended it and I have to agree, it's an excellent addition. 

Anyone out there have a good copycat recipe for this dressing?  Please share if you do.

Simply buy a bag of broccoli slaw and dress it with Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette, then pile it on top of the sloppy joe filling.  

I like to build these sandwiches on soft, pillowy brioche buns.  Add as much asian sloppy joe filling as you like.

Then add the crunchy broccoli slaw and fresh cilantro (which I highly recommend, but, sadly, didn’t have any on the day I took these photos).

Serve with lots of napkins and enjoy! 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• 12-inch cast iron skillet https://amzn.to/3BlZNPb

• my favorite Wusthof knife https://amzn.to/3NKOoQt

• huge cutting board https://amzn.to/3qSERxM

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Asian-Inspired Sloppy Joes

makes 6 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 1/2 cup chopped celery

• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder (not garlic salt)

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• 6 brioche buns

• garnish - chopped fresh cilantro (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute onions, celery, and bell peppers in oil until they soften.

2. Add ground turkey and cook, stirring frequently to break up clumps, until no pink remains.

3. Stir in red wine vinegar, soy, peanut butter, brown sugar, garlic powder, ground ginger, and cayenne; heat to bubbling, then turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Pile mixture onto hamburger buns that have been lined with lettuce leaves and top with chopped cilantro if desired.

Note

• These sandwiches are excellent on their own, but topped with a layer of broccoli slaw dressed with spicy peanut vinaigrette (and fresh cilantro, if you dare) takes them to the next level. I'm absolutely addicted to Trader Joe's spicy peanut vinaigrette (found in the refrigerator section).  Please drop me a line if you know of a good copycat recipe.

Lyle's Golden Syrup Cookies

Lyle's Golden Syrup is one of my all-time favorite ingredients - it has a rich, caramelized flavor just can't be beat and I'm thrilled to see it gaining in popularity.  Here's the flavorful syrup is paired with oats, butter, and vanilla to make chewy cookies.  Incidentally, leftover cookies freeze beautifully (just in case you're tempted to eat too many in one sitting).  

Start by whisking together all purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder. 

In a medium saucepan, heat butter, sugar, and golden syrup together until melted and smooth.

Mmmm.

On a side note, Lyle's Golden Syrup is available in cans, squeeze bottles, and jars (see here).  The squeeze bottles are the least messy, like honey.  

Stir in pure vanilla extract - be sure to use the good stuff!

Now stir in old fashioned oats and the flour mixture.

Stir until no traces of dry oats or flour remain.

For this recipe, I use a #50 scoop to ensure all my cookies are the same size (affiliate link).  I have a number of scoops in different sizes, but this is the size I use for the majority of the cookies and mini muffin recipes that appear on this blog.  

NOTE:  when buying portion scoops, check for "#__" on the sweeper arm.  This scoop is a #50 (that means 50 scoops will equal one quart).  WARNING:  some vendors sell their scoops by diameter size (example:  50mm).   DO NOT order a 50mm scoop if you want a #50 scoop.  The diameter of a 50mm scoop is almost 2 inches, while the diameter of a #50 scoop is much smaller at 1 1/4 inches.    

Pro Tip:  whenever I bake a cookie recipe for the first time, rather than commit an entire tray of cookies to unknown variables such as baking time, baking temperature, and baking surface, I do a small test batch first to refine those unknowns (all of which can make or break your recipe).

First I preheat my oven fully and check my oven thermometer to ensure the interior temperature is accurate, then I bake for the suggested time directed (you'd be surprised how often the directions are wrong).  In addition to verifying baking time and temp, I check to see which baking surface produces the best results.  Here you can see I baked one cookie on parchment paper and one on a small quarter-sized silicone baking mat (like this one).  

Let's check out the results below, shall we?

The differences aren't always this clear, but for this particular recipe, it's obvious the cookie baked on silicone turned out much better than the one baked on parchment paper (and obviously, the suggested oven temp was too hot - thankfully I didn't ruin an entire tray of cookies discovering that fact).

Back to baking surfaces, silicone almost always wins my baking tests - not quite as dramatically as shown here, but I encourage you to give it a try and discover your own results.  

Alrighty - pour yourself a glass of cold milk and enjoy! 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• lyle's golden syrup https://amzn.to/3B5OA54

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3ovS9fE

• #50 scoop https://amzn.to/3gugJcy

• magnetic measuring spoons https://amzn.to/3suac74

• small silpat liner for test baking https://amzn.to/3rCjXBd

• large silpat liner https://amzn.to/3SJkxsC

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/3Lhy06R

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Lyle's Golden Syrup Cookies

makes 18 cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons lyle's golden syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup old fashioned oats

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder, set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat butter, sugar, and golden syrup until melted and smooth; remove from heat and stir in pure vanilla extract.

3. Add flour mixture and oats and stir well to combine.

4. Place cookie dough in an airtight container and chill for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 325F and place rack in the center position.

6. Line two half sheet pans with silpat liners (parchment doesn't work well for these cookies).

7. Use a #50 scoop to portion dough, 6 cookies at a time, evenly spaced on sheet pan.

8. Bake for 8 minutes; remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Note

• I suggest baking only one tray of cookies at a time, being sure to place chilled dough on room temperature (not hot/warm) sheet trays.