I moved to Canada with my family when I was 5 from China to St. John’s Newfoundland. It was a bit of a culture shock. I remember being incredibly upset the first time I was introduced to pizza, refusing to eat any of the cheese and crying for congee. Needless to say, growing up Turkey was not the centerpiece of our holiday meals. The first time my mom and I attempted to roast a whole turkey, we didn’t give the turkey enough time to defrost, so threw it into a sink of water and washed off all the butter. On her next attempt, the white meat was so dry, it shredded as it was carved. We gave up after this and it wasn’t until I tasted my mother in law’s turkey 7 years ago that I understood Stephen’s love for the protein. The dark meat could be juicy, the white meat tender, and topped with gravy and cranberry sauce, amazing.
Today, we roast a whole turkey at least twice a year and there was one year we ate 3 just for Thanksgiving (with my parents, with Stephen’s parents and a personal one just for us). While other families may clamour over who gets the turkey leftovers, Stephen and I are all about the bones because omg turkey soup. This is our second year using our carcass to make a rich turkey broth, perfect for a bowl of ramen.
As with any bowl of ramen Stephen makes, there’s 3 distinct parts, noodles, broth and toppings. In this blog post, we’ll be focusing on how to make the broth and a few toppings. A great supermarket ramen noodle brand is Sun Noodle, which can be found at T&T, any type of flour noodle would work (eggless). Making ramen is a full day, sometimes multi-day, adventure, but the rich milky broth is worth every hour of boiling it takes! Each spoonful is like drinking pure essence of turkey. Planning is required.
I’ve included ideas for some toppings, but anything goes. I also love kimchi, smoked tomatoes, pan fried enokis and chopped up wood ear mushrooms on my ramen bowls. Lastly, having a stock pot of broth going for 8 hours in a kitchen can be quite aromatic. To minimize the scent seeping into all of our furniture, Stephen and I often cook the broth outside using a plug-in induction stove, previously on our condo balcony and now in our backyard.
For other delicious recipes featuring turkey, visit www.ThinkTurkey.ca
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Turkey Farmers of Canada. All ideas and opinions expressed are wholly mine.
[…] wait to start smoking Turkey Legs again once the weather warms up. Until then, a bowl of Turkey Ramen Broth is the perfect liquid […]
[…] smoked the legs and plan to turn the breasts in a turkey pot pie, the bones into a soup (possibly ramen) and the thighs became delicious Turkey Karaage with a simple sweet and sour sauce. This has helped […]