Turkey Ramen
4.3
(7)

Edward Lee, executive chef and owner of 610 Magnolia, in Louisville, Kentucky, shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. Known for blending Southern and Asian flavors, Lee uses the leftover turkey carcass to make a stock infused with country ham, ginger, garlic, and daikon radish. The richly aromatic stock forms the broth for Lee's ramen bowl, which he fills with tofu, avocado, watercress, scallions, shiitake mushrooms, soft-boiled eggs, and leftover turkey meat. Freshly grated Parmesan is the final, unexpected garnish. "It adds umami to the dish," says Lee, adding, "it disappears into the broth and adds a depth and nuttiness."
For more on Lee, plus four more chefs' recipes for transforming your Thanksgiving extras, see The Five Best Leftover Turkey Recipes.
Recipe information
Total Time
4 hours and 15 minutes
Yield
Makes 4 servings, plus additional turkey stock
Ingredients
For the broth:
For the ramen bowl:
To serve:
Preparation
Step 1
Pull about 2 cups of meat off the turkey carcass and reserve for the soup. Using a large chef's knife, chop the turkey carcass into small fist-size pieces. Transfer to a large pot and add the country ham, onion, carrots, daikon radish, garlic, ginger, and lemon halves. Add enough water to cover the ingredients by 1 inch and bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Lower the heat to moderately low and let the stock simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a very gentle simmer, until richly aromatic, about 4 hours. Let the stock cool slightly then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, discarding solids. Measure 8 cups of stock for the ramen bowls and reserve the rest for later use. DO AHEAD: The turkey stock can be prepared ahead and kept, covered in the refrigerator, up to 4 days, or frozen, in an airtight container, up to 3 months.
Make the ramen bowl:
Step 2
Fill a medium bowl with cold water.
Step 3
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower the eggs, 1 at a time, into the boiling water. Make sure the water returns to a boil then cook the eggs for 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to the bowl of cold water. Once the eggs are cool enough to handle, with the back of a knife, gently tap on the shell to crack it. Carefully peel the eggs then cut them in half and set aside.
Step 4
While the eggs are boiling, in a large pot, bring 8 cups of the turkey stock to a boil. Add the miso, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and hot sauce and stir to combine. Add the ramen noodles, discarding the flavor packet if using packaged ramen soup, and boil until tender but still firm, about 3 minutes.
To serve:
Step 5
Divide the ramen noodles and broth evenly into 4 bowls. Into each bowl, evenly divide the tofu, mushrooms, avocado, scallions, watercress, turkey, and soft-boiled egg halves. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan then squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the bowls and serve immediately. Mix everything together and let the broth warm all the ingredients before eating.