Leftover Holiday Turkey Pho
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(slightly adapted from Samin Nosrat)
Ingredients:
2 medium yellow onions, halved and peeled
1 (4-inch) unpeeled piece of fresh ginger
12 cups turkey or chicken stock, homemade if possible
2-4 Tablespoons fish sauce or to taste. I like Red Boat
1 star anise
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cups shredded cooked turkey (about 1 pound)
Kosher salt or extra fish sauce, to taste
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1 (1-pound) package dried rice vermicelli
12 ounces mung bean sprouts, fresh or rinsed and drained canned (about 3 cups)
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped cilantro, leaves and tender stems, (about 1 large bunch)
1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 1 bunch)
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1 small bunch basil sprigs, Thai basil if possible
1-3 jalapeños, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 to 3 limes, sliced into wedges, to taste
Make the Pho:
Place the onions and ginger on a baking sheet covered with foil. Broil them, turning occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes until charred on all sides. Allow charred ginger to cool, and then slice it into 1/2-inch rounds.
In a large Dutch oven or similar heavy pot, combine onions, sliced ginger, stock, fish sauce, star anise and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer partially covered for 45 minutes.
While the broth simmers, cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the package. Drain, rinse and set aside.
Remove the onions, ginger and star anise and add the shredded turkey to the pot, returning to a simmer. Taste the soup, and if desired, adjust the seasoning with additional fish sauce, soy sauce and/or salt.
Divide the rice noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro and scallions evenly among large soup bowls, then ladle the hot stock and turkey over the top. Serve immediately, garnishing with the basil, jalapenos and a good squeeze of lime juice.
Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 3 days. But store any extra noodles, herbs or veggies separately so they don't get soggy.
Make 4-6 servings. YUM!
LESSONS Learned:
1. If you have homemade broth that's great! But a good low sodium store bought one will work too.
2. You could sub in chicken for turkey, tofu with vegetable stock, or add other vegetables. Mushrooms would be a nice addition
3. If you really don't want to use fish sauce, sub in soy or tamari sauce instead. But you might be surprised that once you've mixed all the ingredients in your bowl along with a healthy squeeze of lime juice, that it just adds a deeper level of flavor and not fishiness.
4. If you won't be eating all of the soup, only use as many cooked noodles, sprouts, veggies and herbs as needed, and store the rest separately so they don't get soggy.