Turkey Ramen

Turkey ramen is the perfect recipe for the day after Thanksgiving. Bouncy noodles, a rich, savory broth, jammy eggs, and meaty pieces of crisped up turkey truly take your turkey day leftovers to the next level.

Did you host Thanksgiving this year? If so, good you for! I hope you are enjoying a well deserved beverage while not doing a single dish for at least 48 hours and basking in the glow of accolades and praise from family and friends. Personally I love hosting turkey day. One, because I’m a glutton for those previously mentioned accolades and two because leftovers.

But leftovers, while a cherished part of my Thanksgiving story, also present some challenges. Namely that at some point they lose their luster. I’m pretty sure Eddie would eat a mountain of turkey and leftover mashed potatoes for seven days straight, but I tend to peter out somewhere around day 3. Now I know that I could just make a slightly more reasonable amount of food. But let’s be real here – I won’t.

So when you’re faced with a week’s worth of turkey dinners and you’re not sure how to even open your fridge without audibly sighing, well you have a few options.

1. Suck it up and eat it. Get after all the turkey sandwiches you can and remember that this time only comes once a year.
2. Give it up and toss it. Although this is my least favorite option, I promise I won’t judge if this is your chosen path – desperate times.
3. Change it up and reinvent it! This (obviously) is my preferred method of dealing with any leftover turkey that didn’t make it into sandwiches, soup, or treats for the dog. Over the years I’ve re-purposed turkey into breakfast hash, Thai style lettuce wraps, and even tacos. But this year I may have found absolute fave.

Leftover Turkey Ramen

I love turkey. I love ramen. Ergo…turkey ramen! Seriously though, it just makes so much sense. You’ve got a ton of leftover turkey as well as some turkey or chicken stock you’re not really sure what to do with. Toss in a few other ingredients, and in less than an hour you’ve got piping bowls of steaming, hot ramen that while reminiscent of Thanksgiving, are different enough to get you out of your turkey sandwich rut and remind you that other foods do actually exist.

I’m assuming at this point you’ve been converted. And if not, it’s probably because you’re a vegetarian or you’ve been distracted by some killer Black Friday deal – either way, we cool. But if you are on the bandwagon with me, welcome!  It’s going to be a delicious ride.

What You’ll Need to Make Thanksgiving Leftover Ramen

Here’s a handy dandy list of things you’ll need and why you need em.

• Turkey. Duh. I like to use dark meat for this, as the added fat content helps crisp it up before it hits the soup, but use what you’ve got.
• Stock. This can be turkey, chicken, homemade, boxed, or concentrated. If you don’t have quite enough you can supplement with some water.
• Miso paste. You can usually find this either in the international aisle of your grocery store, or in the refrigerated section where they keep the tofu. If you’re nervous about it, don’t worry – it’s not very expensive and it keeps literally forever. Go for white or yellow miso.
• Aromatics. Because this dish is headed in the direction of Asia, that would mean scallions, garlic, and ginger. Best part? No fiddley chopping – you’re going to fish them out later, so you can keep it casual on the knife cuts.
• Flavorings. Soy, rice vinegar, sriracha, and a touch of brown sugar add nuance, depth, and balance to the finished dish.
• Ramen noodles. I like these fresh ramen noodles (which I find at Wegmans and freeze until the ramen mood strikes) from Sun Noodle Company, but the cheapo version you all ate in college would also work here – minus the icky seasoning packet.
• Garnishes. These include, but are not limited to, jammy seven minute eggs, crispy strips of dried seaweed, sliced scallions, sesame seeds, extra sriracha or sambal for serving, or even some pickled red onions or carrots.

How To Make Turkey Ramen

This takes about an hour start to finish, which is a fraction of the time it takes to make traditional ramen – so I’ll take it! Here’s the basic rundown but the full, printable recipe can be found at the end of the post.

1. Pop your stock into a large pot. The recipe calls for 8 cups of liquid total. Last time I made this I had 6 cups of leftover stock, so I just topped it off with 2 cups of water. Math. BOOM.
2. Roughly slice 5 or 6 scallions, slice a 3 inch piece of ginger (no need to peel it), and cut an entire head of garlic in half (to expose all the cloves). Add all of that to the stock and bring everything up to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the scallions, ginger, and garlic using a slotted spoon and discard.
5. Whisk in the miso, soy, rice vinegar, sriracha, and brown sugar. Taste and adjust as necessary (this will depend on how salty your stock was to begin with/how much water you might have used). Cover and keep the broth simmering over low heat.
6. Add a couple teaspoons of oil to a skillet set over medium heat and add your leftover, shredded turkey. Let the turkey cook for 5-10 minutes, or until it’s warmed through and beginning to crisp on the edges.
7. While the turkey cooks, make your seven minute eggs according to this recipe (or eight minute if you want them more firm and less runny). When they’re done, set them aside in a bowl of cool water.
8. Fill that same saucepan you used for the eggs with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Add your ramen noodles and cook for a few minutes or until they’re cooked through but remain pleasantly chewy. Drain them and rinse briefly under cold water.
9. Assemble by dividing the cooked noodles into bowls, ladling over hot broth to cover, and topping with turkey, your seven minute eggs (cut in half lengthwise), and any other garnishes you’d like.
10. Serve and eat immediately – hot ramen waits for no one!

Tips For Making Turkey Ramen

Even though ramen isn’t a dish that people make at home on the regs, I’m telling you this version IS pretty simple. But tips are clutch anyway – so here ya go!

• Use dark meat turkey for this if you’ve got it. The extra fat content makes the dish even more unctuous and lip smacking.
• Taste your ramen stock as you add the miso. Because everyone’s turkey/chicken stock is a little different your stock may need a little more miso or less than mine did. This will also be impacted by how much (if any) water you added to bring you up to a full 8 cups of liquid.

• Buy white or yellow miso paste, not red. Red is delicious, but too strong for this kind of thing.
• Don’t bother peeling your garlic, ginger, or trimming your scallions – you’re just going to fish them out of the stock later.
• Because miso paste tends to settle at the bottom over time, make sure to give your stock a good whisk before ladling it over your noodles.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and that you’re settling into a long weekend of relaxation and leftovers (whether they be in sandwich, salad, or even RAMEN form). If you make this and enjoy it, feel free to leave a comment below or pop a photo up on social media so I might admire your handy work!

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