Serious Eats' Turkey Paitan Ramen

What to do with ample leftovers? Turkey broth right?! When the temptation to grab the carcass just because it's offered leaves you with waaaay too much turkey broth you have to be inventive to think of ways to use it up.

After some research I found Serious Eats' recipe for Turkey Paitan Ramen which sounded delicious! Crispy turkey with more Brussels - why not!

Yay or Nay: Yay

I simplified the recipe a little by boiling the carcass with kombu, ginger, garlic, spring onion, onion and dried chinese mushrooms to take the western flavours out of the roasted turkey. I took a portion of the broth and added tahini, miso and soy for the ramen base. Then I roasted the brussel sprouts, boiled the egg and chopped some spring onions. Next, I shredded the turkey and cooked it until it was crispy. Assemble it all under a bed of ramen and then pour over the broth. Optional, I added some sesame oil and chili oil to finish!

This was tasty and you definitely couldn't taste the turkey flavour in the broth - which is what I was worried about. Everything came together nicely and it didn't feel like we were eating leftovers - I think this might become a tradition!

Bowl's Summer Ramen

I spotted cookbook Bowl at my local library and the premise is, pretty much meals in one bowl. Written by Lukas Volger, a veggie expert (as it states in the blurb) it was worth a flip through.

As the Hubby was out fishing for most of the day I wanted something fresh, healthy and most importantly made up of ingredients that he refuses to eat. I was planning to make something else from the book but I figured this would be easy and quick enough to whip up for lunch!

Yay or Nay: Yay

This was light, refreshing and smugly healthy! I didn't have some of the ingredients on the list so I omitted them or replaced them with similar items. Instead of buying 5 ears of fresh corn I subbed with canned corn, of which I used the liquid in the can as part of the broth as I couldn't get the corn milk that you would get from fresh corn. I'm assuming you'd get more corn-like flavour. I didn't add onion (none at home), togarashi, scallions or egg as I didn't think it would take away too much from the flavour profile - though I'd rethink the onion (for sweetness). I didn't have kombu (which I can't get my hands on here) so I subbed with some Korean seaweed/kelp.

Shared Appetite's Kimchi Ramen Soup

I love me some kimchi but I didn't have an idea what the hell it was eight years ago. When I moved to South Korea to teach English, I kept hearing about kimchi. How did people know about this and I hadn't the foggiest!? I must admit, it took a while for the tangy, fishy (in some cases stronger than others) crunchy veggie to win me over. However, now I love kimchi at least once a week and I can't imagine a life without it now!! Cue ahhhhhhh from the audience!

Ramen was always something quick and easy to eat in my house but in Korea, it is on another level. Every now and then the carby delight is all you want, so to combine it with some dumplings or mandu makes it a triple threat. This recipe for Spicy Korean Kimchi Ramen would use up a glut of kimchi and hit the comfort food spot fo' sure.

Yay or Nay: Yay

The recipe is to make the broth for the soup but we didn't want to eat meat nor did we want to spend hours waiting for the broth to appear! So I substituted the broth for regular chicken stock for the base, although I added a sneaky shake of the spice packet that comes with the ramen. I also added korean red pepper powder as well as a splash of rice vinegar for added oomph. Make sure you wait for the ramen to release its carby goodness to make the soup extra slurpy!