Forget the turkey: Asian American families reinvent the Thanksgiving table

Roast duck has become a stand-in for turkey in many Asian American households, and pancit or kimchi often fills the space usually held by mashed potatoes. Families who grew up with Chinese, Filipino or Korean cuisines say these dishes make the holiday meal more recognizable and are easier to prepare for large gatherings. As millions of Americans set their tables this Thanksgiving, it is undeniable that the culinary landscape of the holiday is shifting from a rigid adherence to Pilgrim-era staples to a fluid celebration of dual identity.

It is not just a matter of preference but of texture that drives the departure from the traditional bird for many home cooks. For Taiwanese American chef Joanne Chang, the holiday table of her youth rarely featured the dry breast meat of a roasted turkey. In her 2017 Food and Wine piece, Chang noted that “the closest we got to roasting ‘a nice big turkey’ was making Peking duck, lacquered with honey and soy and stuffed with baby bok choy and slivered green onions.” This pivot to duck allows families to participate in the carving ritual while enjoying a protein that aligns with the savory profiles and cooking techniques of Chinese cuisine. Many Asian American families also adopt a hybrid approach by roasting a smaller bird alongside an alternative protein to avoid the technical difficulty of cooking a massive turkey.

This desire to inject bold flavors into the centerpiece extends to South Asian kitchens where the main course often gets a vibrant makeover to match a palate used to heat and complexity. Indian American food blogger and chef Soni, who isn’t a “big turkey fan,” came up with a menu that includes “Indian Spiced Roast Chicken” paired with spicy couscous to make the “tastebuds dance.”

The transformation continues with the side dishes where the definition of stuffing becomes a canvas for heritage ingredients rather than just stale bread. James Beard Award-winning author Andrea Nguyen recalled in a 2021 episode of “The Splendid Table” podcast that her family was “really used to stuffing birds for roasting with sticky rice” which made the American holiday feel like “an adventure” in adaptation.

Hsing Chen, a Chinese American pastry chef, said families should feel free to include dishes that honor their heritage and noted that she plans to have her mom’s Chinese sticky rice instead of the usual cornbread or bread stuffing.

Korean American households are also rewriting the menu by introducing pungent flavors that cut through the heaviness of the traditional spread. In her new cookbook, “Banchan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides,” author Caroline Choe highlights how these small, shareable plates can revitalize the holiday table. Her recipes for dishes like kimchi mac and cheese or soy-braised vegetables offer a necessary acidity and crunch that balance the richer, traditional American dishes.

These distinct culinary expressions reveal that the holiday is no longer about assimilating into a single vision of America but about bringing one’s full self to the table. While perspectives on the history of the day may vary across immigrant timelines, the desire to connect remains the true anchor of the celebration. As families pass plates of sticky rice and spiced poultry on Thursday, they demonstrate that the most powerful tradition is the freedom to reshape a national holiday until it finally tastes like home.