The sauce is whisked before the pan goes on: mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, sriracha and a squeeze of lime, which is all the bang bang sauce needs.
Ground turkey browns in eight to ten minutes while the rice stays hot, and the bowls are built straight after, for twenty minutes in total.
How to Make It
Sauce whisked smooth
Whisk the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, sriracha and lime juice into a smooth orange-pink sauce.
Turkey browned to 165°F
Heat the neutral oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, salt and garlic powder and cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking it into crumbles, until it reaches 165°F.
Bowls filled
Divide the hot white rice among four bowls and top with the cooked turkey.
Sauced and garnished
Drizzle generously with the bang bang sauce and finish with the green onions, sesame seeds and sliced red and green chilies.
The Sauce, Whisked First
Four ingredients in one bowl before the skillet is even hot.
Base
1/2 cup mayonnaise
The creamy body.
Sweet
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
Sweetness and the orange-pink colour.
Heat
1 tbsp sriracha
A steady background heat.
Lift
1 tsp lime juice
Keeps it from tasting flat over rice.
Then tasteDrizzle over the turkey and rice, then add green onion, sesame and sliced chilies.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground turkey
- A pound, broken into crumbles as it browns so it cooks through quickly.
- Bang bang sauce
- Half a cup of mayonnaise with sweet chili sauce, sriracha and lime juice.
- Fresh chilies
- One small red and one small green, thinly sliced for the edge of each bowl.
Success Tips
- Have the rice hot before the turkey goes in the pan, since the whole dish takes twenty minutes.
- Press the turkey flat for the first minute, then break it up; the contact time builds colour.
- Drizzle the sauce in a zigzag rather than stirring it through, so each bite has both sauce and plain rice.
Why This Recipe Works
- Whisking the sauce first means the turkey is never waiting in the pan.
- Breaking the turkey into crumbles gives more browned surface and cooks it faster.
- Sweet chili sauce plus sriracha covers sweetness and heat without a long ingredient list.
- Lime juice keeps the mayonnaise-based sauce from tasting heavy over rice.
Serving Ideas
Serve with the chilies on one side of the bowl so heat can be taken or left, with extra lime if wanted.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate the turkey, rice and sauce separately and promptly; reheat the turkey and rice and add the sauce cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it really twenty minutes?
Yes: 5 minutes of prep and 15 of cooking, with the sauce whisked while the pan heats.
What is in the sauce?
Mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, sriracha and lime juice.
