Thursday, 10 September 2026

Subscribe Now Support Us

Daily Tribune

Thursday, 10 September 2026

News
Opinion
Business
Life
Show
Sports
Global Goals
Obituary

Partner feature

The Philippines' leading digital newspaper.

Headlines
Page three
Metro
Nation
World
Dyaryo Tirada
SONATOTOO (archive)

All columnists
Editorials
Guest essays
Letters to the Editor
Scuttlebutt

Shipping
Portraits
Pep
Business Advisories
Technology (Tech Talks)

Show
Food & Drink
Getaways
Arts & Culture
Social Set
Spaces
Fashion & Beauty
The Edit
Top Form
Next Gen
Sacred Space
Project Larawan
Snaps

Hoops
Volley
Golf
Goal
Boxing
Tennis
Esports
Blast

Company

SONATOTOO archive
About
Contact
Advertise
Privacy
Subscribe
Support Us

© 2026 Daily Tribune · tribune.net.ph · Powered by Quintype

More than just roast: Discovering the versatility of chicken, turkey and duck | Daily Tribune

More than just roast: Discovering the versatility of chicken, turkey and duck

With a dash of creativity, varied techniques and cross-cultural flavors, these everyday staples can be completely transformed. Sometimes, all it takes is looking at a familiar ingredient from an entirely new perspective.

Eliana Lacap·10 September 2026, 7:16 am·1 MIN READ

More than just roast: Discovering
the versatility of chicken, turkey and duck — CHEF Sonny Mariano (left), Chef Ivory Vaksman (middle), Chef Kalel Chan (right), Chef Miguel Valdez (back, right side), Chef JM Sunglao (left middle) alongside the spread of their dishes.
Photographs by Eliana Lacap for DAILY TRIBUNE

Text size

Partner feature

Stay informed

Get Daily Tribune in your inbox

Breaking news, opinion, and business coverage for readers in the Philippines and abroad.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Read next

Mango Sago in a mooncake?

What's your take?

Share

Google Preferred Sources

Get more Daily Tribune stories in your search results

Add Daily Tribune as a preferred source on Google Search.

Continue reading

From Kagoshima to Manila: Akune Gold Wagyu takes center stage at Yakumi
Five reasons this Japanese grill belongs on your BGC dining list
Generation coffee

Partner feature

Partner feature

Partner feature

Suggested Articles

Daily Feng Shui Horoscope by Master Hanz Cua

Thursday (10 September 2026)

DT·7 hours ago

Nunelucio Alvarado and the people of the sugarlands

The workers of the Negros sugarlands stand at the center of Nunelucio M. Alvarado’s art. With their square shoulders,…

Roel Hoang Manipon·8 hours ago

Imelda Cajipe-Endaya and the art of women’s resistance

For more than five decades, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya has made art from the materials and realities of Filipino life. Woven…

Roel Hoang Manipon·8 hours ago

Teodoro Hilado and the art of light

Light in the theater does more than make performers visible. It reveals emotion, directs attention, defines space, and…

Abegail Esquierda·8 hours ago

Alfredo S. Buenaventura and the Filipino voice in music

Across concert halls, churches, classrooms, and town plazas, Alfredo S. Buenaventura’s music has carried a distinctly…

Roel Hoang Manipon·8 hours ago

Share

NOT your typical duck roast, this dish combines the rich flavor of duck with the aromatic notes of aniseed and the bright citrus of orange.

A creative twist on chicken gyoza, using crispy chicken skin as the wrapper to add another layer of texture and flavor to the dish.

AN Asian-inspired take on turkey, transforming it into sushi and topping it with kimchi for an added spicy kick.

AN elevated fried chicken dish prepared alongside Chef Ivory Vaksman and another participant. The chicken is paired with a rich, savory sauce made with cream, macadamia nuts, pickled capers, rosemary and dried apples, with mashed potatoes and asparagus on the side.

Chicken, turkey and duck: we all have the stereotypical dishes that come to mind when we think of these poultry staples. But what if they were far more versatile than we thought?

To prove this, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) recently teamed up with a roster of talented chefs. Their goal was to showcase the untapped potential of US chicken, turkey and duck, highlighting how they can spice up any occasion or restaurant menu.

Chef Sonny Mariano delivered a mind-blowing twist on gyoza. Swapping the traditional pastry for chicken skin seared to an irresistible crisp, he added a rich layer of texture and a deeply savory crunch.

Chef Miguel Valdez brought Mediterranean flair to turkey, reimagining it as a kebab. By alternating the meat with pieces of tortilla, he perfectly balanced the turkey’s intensity, creating an experience akin to a deconstructed shawarma.

Elevating the traditional roast, Chef Ivory Vaksman prepared an aniseed-orange duck. Far from the common misconception that duck can taste malansa (gamey), the bright citrus and warm aniseed flavors married beautifully with the rich meat to create a complex, vibrant flavor profile.

Proving turkey belongs in Asian cuisine, Chef Kalel Chan served up an inventive turkey kimchi sushi. Though my low spice tolerance made the heat a bit intense, the bold, fiery flavors were undeniably delicious.

Then came the highlight of the program: our turn in the kitchen. Eager to learn, I volunteered to cook alongside Chef Vaksman, transforming a simple fried chicken dish into an elevated culinary experience.

Standing behind the counter, I was thrilled — learning directly from a professional chef was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. My first task? Mashed potatoes. How hard could that be?

I quickly learned a completely new approach. We boiled the potatoes with garlic in water as salty as the sea, much like cooking pasta. Next came the sauce, which completely bypassed ordinary salt. Instead, we built a sharp, complex flavor profile using salt-pickled capers and Dijon mustard. We incorporated macadamia nuts for a roasted, nutty depth, and dried apples for a touch of sweetness. Finished with fragrant rosemary and heavy cream, the mixture reduced into a deeply rich, savory sauce.

The chicken itself was boiled with whole peppercorns and salt, then air-dried for two hours to ensure a perfectly crisp fry. Meanwhile, my potatoes were blended with butter, salt, and cream, yielding the smoothest, creamiest mash I had ever made.

Finally, I learned the art of plating: laying the sauce down first before resting the chicken on top, creating a visual masterpiece that tasted just as good as it looked.

That was my biggest takeaway. Chicken, turkey and duck are far from limited to the dishes we traditionally associate with them. With a dash of creativity, varied techniques and cross-cultural flavors, these everyday staples can be completely transformed. Sometimes, all it takes is looking at a familiar ingredient from an entirely new perspective.

USAPEEC Philippines
US chicken, turkey and duck
Poultry culinary innovation

Also read

Bigger savings, fuller chicken: How McDo keeps Filipinos coming back for more

Filipinos have long had a soft spot for chicken, and McDonald’s Philippines has found a way to turn that love into one of the biggest…

Patricia Ramirez·1 September 2026

Also read

‘Tikim Tikim’ with master chef William Wongso and chef Datu Shariff Pendatun

It was a marketplace of marketplaces — of tastes, stories and shared memories — which reminded us that sometimes, all it takes is a little…

Edu Jarque·7 September 2026