I often get asked which of my recipes I make the most, and homemade ramen has to be up there. This is my Homemade Leftover Turkey Ramen. It's warming, full of flavour, and really customisable. It's also a great way to make the most of your turkey leftovers including the carcass.
I hate the idea of food going to waste, especially around the holidays. So, if you're like me and you need inspiration on how to use up your leftover turkey, you should check out my festive turkey flatbreads, turkey mac and cheese, dumpling wreath, or these Grinch Dumplings.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Quick to assemble: This recipe takes around 2 hours for the carcass to bubble away and produce a flavorful broth. But, once that's happened, this homemade leftover turkey ramen only takes 10 minutes to cook up and assemble. It's really simple and great for a weeknight dinner.
Using up leftovers: If you're not sure what to do with your leftover turkey carcass, you've got to use it to make turkey broth. Simply store the broth in an airtight container and place it in the fridge, or you can freeze it to make the turkey ramen whenever you fancy!
Homemade is best: Don't get me wrong, I love using a store-bought chicken stock or broth, but there's something really wonderful about making it from scratch. And it's much healthier!
I love this turkey ramen, so if you're like me then you'll want to check out my easy noodle soup recipe or my spicy beef noodle soup ready in 15 minutes!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Leftover turkey & carcass: You'll want enough turkey meat for your two portions of noodles. Make sure to remove any leftover turkey meat from your carcass, then you'll use it to make the most flavourful broth. It's a great way to extract all of that extra goodness from the turkey before discarding it. If you don't have any leftover turkey or a carcass but still want to make this ramen, feel free to use chicken meat and chicken stock.
Peanut butter: Smooth peanut butter works well for this recipe but you could also use crunchy. If you don't have peanut butter, almond butter works great too.
Rice wine vinegar: An essential part of balancing out the flavours in the sauce. You could also use a splash of white wine vinegar or mirin if you don't have rice wine vinegar.
Sesame oil: To add a nutty flavour to the sauce, sesame oil is one of my favourite seasonings. If you don't have it, you could use a teaspoon of tahini (sesame paste), or alternatively you could use a different kind of nut oil.
Soy sauce: I always use light soy sauce instead of dark soy sauce. This is because light soy sauce has a lower sodium level and lighter in colour. It's a lighter seasoning, whereas dark soy sauce is much stronger and can over power the dish.
Chilli oil: Any chilli crisp or chilli oil will do. I love using LaoGanMa chilli oil, but any from an Asian or local supermarket will do.
Garlic: I used fresh garlic, that I minced. I wouldn't recommend using garlic powder, but you could use pre-chopped store-bought garlic.
Ginger: I used fresh ginger, that I minced. I wouldn't recommend using ginger powder, but you could use pre-chopped store-bought ginger.
Milk: Cow's milk or soy milk work well for this. It adds a slight creaminess to the broth that gives it more body.
Noodles: You want to use ramen noodles, either dry or fresh. Alternatively you can use standard dried egg noodles, rice noodles, or soba noodles. If you're a fan of noodles dishes, you might want to check out my Spam Ramen or my Green Tahini Miso Ramen.
Toppings: For the garnish, I've sliced up some carrots, red chillies, and shiitake mushrooms. I also prepped some fresh coriander, spring onions, and a jammy egg.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients for this homemade leftover turkey ramen.
Just for your information...I have not tested the recipe with the substitute ingredients. They're just suggestions that I believe would work really well! 🙂
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Place your turkey carcass into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add in a tablespoon of flaky sea salt to season the broth and enhance the flavour. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 1-2 hours with the lid on the pan.
Step 2: Once your turkey stock is ready, make your seasoning sauce by combining peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, light soy sauce, chilli oil, and sugar. Give it all a good mix and set aside.
Step 3: Next up, place a frying pan on medium heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil. Add in your minced ginger and garlic, followed by the light soy sauce and leftover turkey. Give it a good mix and fry for 5 minutes and then remove and set aside.
Step 4: Once your turkey broth has reduced and tastes really delicious, strain it and then add the broth back to the saucepan with the milk. Give it a good stir and place back on a low heat. When you're ready to serve, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter sauce at the base of your bowl and top with a few ladles of the broth. Give it a good mix to remove any lumps.
Step 5: Meanwhile, prepare all of your garnishes and cook your noodles. Cook your egg for 6 minutes in boiling water for a jammy egg. Place your garnishes on top of your bowl of noodles.
Step 6: Serve up with a drizzle of chilli oil and enjoy!
Top Tips!
- The longer you simmer your turkey carcass broth, the more flavourful it will be!
- I'd recommend using brown meat for your turkey topping, as you want the turkey to be as moist as possible to avoid drying out when frying with the soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.
- Only add salt to your turkey broth. This allows it to be more versatile and for you to be able to use it a variety of recipes and season it according to the style you want!
What To Do With Leftovers
Storage: First up, you'll want to store your broth and your garnishes separately. For your broth, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Place all of your garnishes into a separate container and once again, store for up to 4 days.
Freezing: If you'd like to freeze your ramen, I'd recommend freezing your broth in a container for up to 4 months. The turkey meat you can also freeze in a container or plastic wrap. I would recommend making all of the garnishes fresh when you're ready to eat. When thawing, remove from the freezer and place in the fridge to let defrost overnight.
Reheating: Reheat the broth by placing it on the hob and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Microwave the turkey meat and then prepare all of your garnishes separately following the instructions for this recipe.
FAQs
Your broth (turkey broth), tare (sauce), noodles, garnishes, and chilli oil.
Generally for a ramen noodle soup, you'd want to use ramen noodles (Chinese-style wheat noodles). They're really bouncy and delicious. But, for this recipe and ease, feel free to use any noodles you have in the cupboard.
Absolutely, I'd highly recommend this! Prepare all your veggies, eggs, turkey meat, in advance, so it's all ready to go when your broth and noodles are ready.
Here's some more recipe inspiration!
If you tried this Leftover Homemade Turkey Ramen or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Homemade Leftover Turkey Ramen
Ingredients
For The Leftover Turkey Broth
- 1 turkey carcass
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
- 75ml milk
For The Tare (Sauce)
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter
- ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chilli oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For The Turkey Meat Topping
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch ginger, minced
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 100g leftover turkey meat
For The Garnishes & Noodles
- 2 portions of ramen noodles
- 2 eggs, boiled for 6 minutes
- 5 shiitake mushrooms, finely sliced and lightly fried
- 1 carrot, finely sliced
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- Coriander, roughly chopped
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place your turkey carcass into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add in a tablespoon of flaky sea salt to season the broth and enhance the flavour. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 1-2 hours with the lid on the pan.
- Once your turkey stock is ready, make your seasoning sauce (tare) by combining peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, light soy sauce, chilli oil, and sugar. Give it all a good mix and set aside.
- Next up, place a frying pan on medium heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil. Add in your minced ginger and garlic, followed by the light soy sauce and leftover turkey. Give it a good mix and fry for 5 minutes and then remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, prepare all of your garnishes and cook your noodles. Cook your eggs for 6 minutes in boiling water for a jammy egg and fry off your shiitake mushrooms.
- Once your turkey broth has reduced and tastes really delicious, strain it and then add the broth back to the saucepan with the milk. Give it a good stir and place back on a low heat. When you're ready to serve, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter sauce at the base of your bowl and top with a few ladles of the broth. Give it a good mix to remove any lumps.
- Place your garnishes on top of your bowl of noodles. Serve up with a drizzle of chilli oil and enjoy!
Notes
- The longer you simmer your turkey carcass broth, the more flavourful it will be!
- I'd recommend using brown meat for your turkey topping, as you want the turkey to be as moist as possible to avoid drying out when frying with the soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.
- Only add salt to your turkey broth. This allows it to be more versatile and for you to be able to use it a variety of recipes and season it according to the style you want!
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