Shio Ramen with Turkey Broth and Chicken Chashu

This shio ramen with turkey broth and chicken chashu began with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. 

I innocently decided that I would try to make homemade ramen in order to create a soup with my leftover turkey carcass from Thanksgiving.

Little did I know that making this ramen would end up being a two day project, but it was totally worth it, and the broth was delicious. In fact, we used some of the leftover broth and tare to make turkey and vegetable soup. 

While I'm pretty sure that turkey broth has never been used for traditional ramen (it's usually chicken or pork based), I'm hoping that this soup might begin a trend. Of course you can easily substitute chicken for the turkey. 

For an easier ramen, you could always make my rotisserie chicken ramen. It's really good too. 

What are the four most common types of ramen?

• Shio Ramen - salt based
• Shoyu Ramen - soy sauce based
• Miso Ramen - miso based
• Tonkotsu Ramen - based on a broth from pork bones

This recipe is for Shio ramen. It consists of a clear broth flavored with Shio Tare, a mixture of natural salt, dried fish (either bonito flakes, dried sardines, or dried anchovies), konbu, which is dried seaweed, dried shiitake mushrooms, and water.

You make the tare in advance and add it to the broth just before serving the ramen. It adds amazing umami to the ramen.

I already had konbu in my pantry, along with bonito flakes, and I have no idea why. I'm pretty sure both ingredients ended up in my pantry via Amazon while researching recipe ideas. Sometimes I get a little crazy when it comes to ingredients.

Then there's the dashi, which you make by soaking shiitake mushrooms and konbu in water overnight. The dashi is the base for the broth.

After making the dashi, I added the turkey carcass, water,, half of an apple, and some ginger and garlic, and simmered the ingredients for four hours. Be sure to remove the kombu and shiitakes once the mixture comes to a boil.

To make the Shio Tare, you use a spice grinder to grind bonito flakes, and dried shiitake mushrooms. You then simmer it in a kombu infused water and then add salt. After straining, you reserve the remaining liquid for adding to the broth when you serve the ramen.

Once you have your broth and your tare, you cook the noodles and and quickly assemble your bowl.

What are the traditional toppings for ramen?

There are lots of ways to top your ramen bowl, including:

• Menma (pickled bamboo)
• Chasu (marinated pork or chicken)
• Marinated soft or hard boiled eggs (Ajitama)
• Dried nori
• Sesame seeds
• Scallions
• Bean sprouts
• Leafy vegetables
• Kamaboko (a fish cake)
• A drizzle of sesame oil

I topped this ramen with chicken chashu, some baby bok choy leaves, shredded scallions (negi), and seasoned half-boiled eggs. 

This ramen began as an idea for making a soup with leftovers. The next thing you know, it became a two day project. 

The one thing I did not do was make my own noodles. Yes. I know. What is wrong with me? Instead, I used packaged dried noodles and discarded the flavor packet that came with them. 

Boil the noodles separately from the broth just before serving the ramen. Don't cook the noodle in the broth or they could turn into mush. 

This month the Soup Saturday Swappers are making soup from leftovers. I made this with a leftover turkey carcass. If you don't have one, you can easily use a couple of chickens (which is more traditional). 

soup, ramen, chicken, turkey, make-ahead, noodles

Soup, noodles

Japanese

Yield: 4 servingsAuthor: Karen Kerr

Shio Ramen with Turkey Broth and Chicken Chashu

ingredients

Shio Tare (salt seasoning)

• 1 ounce bonito flakes
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 2 ounces konbu
• salt, 16% by weight, or 1/2 cup

Half-Boiled Seasoned eggs (Ajitama)

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 6 large room temperature eggs, half-boiled and peeled
• handful of bonito flakes

Chicken Chashu

• 1 pound boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 1/5 cups water
• 2 cups soy sauce
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup sugar

Turkey Broth

• 1 ounce dried konbu
• 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 4 quarts water
• 1 turkey carcass
• 1/2 apple
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 peeled garlic cloves

Shio Turkey Ramen

• 1/2 cup Shio Tare
• 5 cups of the broth
• 2 packages of dried ramen noodles, seasoning discarded
• Slices of Chicken Chashu
• 1/2 cup of shredded white parts of scallions 
• 1/2 cup of sliced green parts of scallions 
• 4 half-cooked seasoned eggs, split in half
• Baby bok choy leaves
• Drizzle of sesame oil
• Toasted sesame seeds

instructions

Shio Tare

1. Add the bonito flakes and shiitake mushrooms to a spice grinder and grind it into a powder. 
2. Add the water to a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the konbu and simmer for 2 minutes. Discard the konbu. Add the powdered bonito and shiitake powder to the water and bring to a boil. 
3. Remove the pan from the heat and strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve. 
4. Measure the weight of the liquid and add 16 percent of this weight in sea or kosher salt. If you don't have a scale, measure out 2 cups of the broth and add 1/3 cup of salt. 
5. Whisk to make sure all of the salt dissolves.
6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Half-Boiled Ajitama (Seasoned Eggs)

1. combine the water, dark soy sauce, and mirin in a container. 
2. Add the eggs and the bonito flakes. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours. Remove them from the soy solution and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 
3. When ready to serve, cut the eggs in half. 

Chicken Chashu

1. Roll the chicken, skin side out, into rolls. Tie the thighs up with twine. 
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown the chicken on all sides. 
3. Combine the water, soy sauce, wine, and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and add the chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil and the reduce the temperature to medium and cook uncovered for 25 minutes. 
4. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Remove the cooled chicken to a place and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. 

To make the Broth

1. Soak the konbu and shiitake mushrooms in the water overnight in a large stock pot. 
2. Add the turkey carcass and add enough water to cover. Bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Using tongs, remove the mushrooms and konbu from the pot and add the apple half, ginger, and garlic cloves. 
3. Simmer, uncovered, for four hours. 
4. Strain the broth into a container and reheat when ready to serve. 

To Assemble the Ramen

1. Bring the tare and broth to a simmer in a saucepan. 
2. Bring another saucepan of water to a boil and add the noodles. Cook according to the package instructions, usually 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately strain the noodles, removing as much water as possible, and place them in the bowls. 
3. Add the broth to the bowls (1 1/4 cups per bowl). 
4. Garnish the bowls with 2 to 3 slices of chashu, some of the scallions, one or two egg halves, and a couple of bok choy leaves. 
5. Drizzle with a teaspoon of sesame oil and a half teaspoon of sesame seeds. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/12/shio-ramen-with-turkey-broth-and.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

Recipe adapted from Ramen at Home: The Easy Japanese Cookbook for Classic Ramen and Bold New Flavors