Asian Turkey Meat Loaf (healthy + delicious)

What do you make when you have a cupboard full of Asian sauces and a sleeve of ground turkey? Ask Greg and he will whip you up a Asian flair turkey meatloaf.

A lot of people don’t know this, but Greg is an AMAZING cook! Due to all of the time he spent on the road during his career, he has seen every episode of Good Eats, Chopped, and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives  – so more than good technique he’s learned the science behind food. Let’s just say I have learned how incredibly mediocre I am in the kitchen, and that I am much better off staying out until the meal is ready. I definitely do not complain about that! I am OK with clean up duty to have a home-cooked meal every day after work. Because Greg is so great in the kitchen I am thinking about mixing his original recipes into the blog every now and then. Hopefully the pictures will get more pretty as we move forward- all props to foodies on how beautiful their dishes look, it’s not easy! 

When I came home from work and Greg was making this turkey meat loaf I was skeptical. Even more skeptical when he pulled it out of the oven. But to my surprise, it was pretty darn good. I asked him to write a recipe for me to share since I’ve never heard or seen of anything quite like it.

My favorite part about this recipe is the sauce on top with the peanuts. It really adds a good flavor and texture to the dish. Another great thing is this dish can easily be tailored to your spice preference, but I warn you if you don’t like a little spice at all I would steer clear of this dish. Gochujang can be spicy for someone with a low spice tolerance.

INGREDIENTS:

1 clove garlic
1 T fresh grated ginger
½ lg white onion (or 1 medium onion)
½ C low sodium Soy Sauce
2 T Rice Wine Vinegar
1 T Sesame Oil
2 T Honey
1 tsp Sambal Chili Paste
1 T toasted Sesame Seeds
1 lb Ground Turkey or Beef
½ C panko style Bread Crumbs
1 egg
⅓ C Spicy Gochujang Cooking sauce
¼ C peanuts (we refer dry roasted)

DIRECTIONS: (see photos below for reference)

1. Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Medium chop the onion. Warm ½ T of coconut or extra virgin olive oil in a medium saucepan, and saute ingredients over medium-low heat until onions become soft.
2. While you’re waiting begin on the sauce by mixing the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, only 1 T honey, sambal paste, and sesame seeds. Mix thoroughly using a whisk or emulsion blender (pictured). Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Once your onions, garlic, and ginger are ready- let them cool. In a medium sized mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon or your hands to combine it with 1 lb ground beef or turkey (we use 90/10 turkey for this recipe).
5. From there, mix in ½ C bread crumbs, 1 lg egg, and about ⅓ C of the sauce you mixed earlier (there will be extra). You may need to add more bread crumbs or sauce to get the right consistency. If you’ve ever made meatloaf, it should be a similar texture.
6. On a cookie sheet with foil, or a silicon baking mat, form 2-3 loaves-logs-patties-hearts, whatever form you’d like! They should be about 1 inch thick. Set aside.
7. In a small bowl, mix together the Gochujang cooking sauce + 1 T honey, and spread over the top of the meatloaf.
8. Bake at 375 degrees until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, roughly 20 minutes. If you want to sprinkle more sesame seeds on the top, do so about 10 minutes into cooking.
9. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with peanuts.

Want it spicier? Add a touch of sambal to the sauce that goes on top of the meatloaf.

Good dish Compliments: Green Beans, Broccoli, Jasmine Rice

dévorer!