Planning the Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner While Living Abroad – The Stuffing

Hi everyone. Welcome to my second post dedicated to helping you plan the perfect Thanksgiving dinner while living abroad. Last time, I wrote about making sure you have all the right utensils and about how to prepare the all-important turkey. Today, I’m going to talk about your turkey’s main squeeze, the stuffing!

The Stuffing

The perfect partner for turkey is stuffing. In a major metropolitan area, boxed stuffing is pretty easy to find. But if you live where it is hard to find or if the import stores run out, don’t worry – you can still make it from scratch.

Place 4 cups of bread into the refrigerator overnight to dry out (most recipes say leave it out on the counter, but in my experience, most Chinese kitchens are too humid for this and you’ll just end up with moldy bread). After the bread is dry, chop into 1 inch (2.5-cm) cubes.

In a skillet or wok, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil or butter. Add in 1 cup of diced celery and 1 cup of diced onions and sautee until they are slightly softened but still have some crunch. Add in 1 cup of turkey broth (if you don’t have enough, you can add in 1 cup of chicken broth or 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon). Stir until hot. Add in seasonings such as dried or fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage), salt, and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and gently fold in breadcrumbs. The bread should be moist, but not soggy. You can add in more liquid as needed.

Transfer mixture to a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) for 30 minutes (this step is not necessary, but is recommended).