A quick and easy udon noodle soup made with leftover turkey, bok choy and a simple miso broth. Ready from start to finish in 15 minutes!
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It's almost Thanksgiving, which means there will be lots of festivities and gatherings with roast turkey around here! I think this is fantastic because it means that we will have tons of leftover turkey to use which means lots of quick and easy to make meals (fried rice, fried noodles, soups, stir-fries, sandwiches etc)! Oh and don't forget to save the bones to make stock with!
After all the gatherings, I'm usually burnt out from all the socializing and cooking, so it is always nice to be able to also use what I already have to make quick 15 minute meals that even my husband can make easily without my help in the kitchen. One of my favourite recipes to make on lazy days like these is a warm and comforting bowl of udon noodle soup with leftover turkey. Once you have the leftover turkey ready and shredded up, the hardest part of the recipe is making the broth, and that literally only takes 10-15 minutes of simmering. This recipe makes enough for 1 bowl of turkey udon noodle soup, but it can easily be scaled 2x, 4x or 6x if needed.
INGREDIENTS FOR TURKEY UDON NOODLE SOUP
- Turkey - For this recipe, I used leftover turkey. Since the turkey has already been cooked, it is very easy to prepare and quick to warm up in the noodle soup.
- Vegetables - I like using bok choy in this recipe, but you can definitely substitute this with any vegetables you like!
- Udon Noodles - For the udon noodles, I like to use the ones that come frozen in individual brick form. The frozen udon noodles are a lot chewier and satisfying to eat. If you can't find the frozen one, you can use the individually plastic packaged ones as well - it would be prepared the same way. If you want to use the dry udon noodles you can do that as well, but it will take a bit longer to prepare since you need to boil them ahead of time.
- Broth - Any type of broth works well for this recipe. I like to make sure that it is either low sodium or has no salt added so you can have a bit more control on how salty you want the final broth to be.
- Soy Sauce - I use light soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce for the broth. Do a taste test at the very end to make sure it is salty enough for you and adjust the final saltiness with salt if needed.
- Miso - To keep the soup light and delicate, I like to use white or yellow miso in this. Red miso has a stronger flavour and will overpower this broth.
- Star Anise - The star anise adds a bit more flavour to the broth. Definitely add it if you have it.
- Sesame Oil - Add it at the very end when you turn off the heat - I find cooking it into the broth makes it lose some of its flavours.
PREPARING THE INGREDIENTS AHEAD OF TIME
If you are using the frozen (or plastic prepackaged) udon noodles. You don't need to cook it ahead of time. I find it easiest to just run really hot tap water over it for 1 minute to defrost it, which will break it up into individual strands. This keeps the frozen noodles chewier as well, since pre-boiling it ahead of time will overcook the noodles when you add it to the final soup.
It is super easy to prepare the leftover turkey, I like to just use my hand and rip the meat off the bones into small bite-sized shredded pieces. If you don't like getting messy, you can also thinly slice it with a knife as well.
Bok choy should be sliced in half and then quickly washed under cold tap water to remove any sand and debris, set them aside to be added to the broth when you're ready to serve it!
15 MINUTE UDON NOODLE SOUP BROTH
The simple miso broth for the recipe is super easy to make. You can put everything into the pot at the same time and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes - just make sure to add the sesame oil at the very end once the final dish is done. I find this keeps the sesame oil more flavourful.
Once the broth is done, you can put in the thawed udon noodles, shredded leftover turkey, boy choy and cook it for 1 minute to warm everything up together and voila! You have a comforting bowl of turkey udon noodle soup!
HOW TO MAKE SOFT BOILED EGGS (OPTIONAL)
Whenever I have a bowl of noodle soup, I love adding soft boiled eggs into it. I like my eggs jammy, but slightly runny in the centre.
It's super easy to make soft boiled eggs, you just need to use a timer (I use my oven timer).
To make soft boiled eggs:
- I start off by adding eggs into a pot - make sure you use a small pot that fits all the eggs into a single layer snug (I like to make extra and store them in the fridge for breakfast or for noodle soups the next day).
- Fill the pot with cold water until it just covers the eggs and place the pot over the stove and set it to medium heat.
- Add ½ teaspoon of salt into the water and put a lid over the pot.
- It's important that you don't leave the stove during this step. Wait for the water to start to vigorously boil, once the water starts to boil set a timer for 4 minutes (if you like the yolk less runny, set the timer for 5 minutes).
- Once the timer is up, remove the pot from the stove and run the eggs under cold tap water for 2 minutes. Make sure that while you are running the eggs over cold water, you are also pouring out the hot water out as well. We want to stop the cooking process.
- Keep them in the fridge, until you are ready to use them and only peel it when you are ready to eat them!
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Turkey Udon Noodle Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup leftover turkey hand shredded, or sliced into thin pieces
- 1 frozen brick of udon
- 2 bok choy cut in half
- 1 large egg
Soup Ingredients
- 3 cups broth no salt or low sodium, meat or vegetetable
- 1 tablespoon miso white or yellow miso
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 whole star anise
Toppings/Garnishes
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons green onions finely chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Preparation
- Slice the bok choy in half and wash out the sand from the middle. Set aside
- Hand shred the leftover turkey and set aside. (You can also use a knife to cut thin pieces as well, if you don't want to get messy)
- Place a frozen brick of udon noodles into a colander and run hot tap over it for 1 minute, until they break apart into loose noodles. Set aside.
Making a Soft Boiled Egg (Optional)
- Place a few eggs in a small pot. Make sure the eggs fit snug within the pot in a single layer.
- Fill the pot with cold water until it covers the eggs slightly
- Place the pot on the stove over medium heat, add ½ teaspoon of salt and cover it with a lid.
- Once the water starts to boil vigrously, set a timer for 4 minutes. (If you want the yolk slightly less runny, set the timer to 5 minutes) - Make sure you don't leave the stove area so that you can watch exactly when the water starts to vigrously boil
- Once the timer is up, turn off the stove and run cold tap water over the eggs for approximatley 2 minutes to stop the cooking process. Pour out some of the hot water slowly while you are doing this.
- Place the eggs in the fridge, until you are ready to use them. Peel and slice the egg in half when you are right about to eat or serve them.
Making the Soup
- Set a medium sized pot on the stove and set the temperature to medium heat.
- Add in the broth and wait for it to boil.
- Once the broth starts to boil, add in the rest of the ingredients under 'Soup Ingredients' into the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to dissolve the miso into the broth.
Putting It Together
- Once the broth is done, remove the star anise.
- Add in the bok choy, udon noodles and turkey and let it cook for 1 minute.
- Turn off the heat, pour in the sesame oil.
- Pour everything into a bowl, top it with green onions and enjoy!
NOTES
- For the udon noodles, I like to use the ones that come frozen in individual brick form. The frozen udon noodles are a lot chewier and satisfying to eat. If you can't find the frozen one, you can use the individually plastic packaged ones as well - it would be prepared the same way. If you want to use the dry udon noodles you can do that as well, but it will take a bit longer to prepare since you need to boil them ahead of time.
- Any type of broth works well for this recipe. I like to make sure that it is either low sodium or has no salt added so you can have a bit more control on how salty you want the final broth to be.
- I use light soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce for the broth. Do a taste test at the very end to make sure it is salty enough for you and adjust the final saltiness with salt if needed.
- To keep the soup light and delicate, I like to use white or yellow miso in this. Red miso has a stronger flavour and will overpower this broth.
- Add the sesame oil in at the very end when you turn off the heat - I find cooking it into the broth makes it lose some of its flavours.
Josie says
Udon noodles is nice and I love its smooth texture. I love this simple and fast recipe, The soup base is quite different ... because you added Star Anise, very little Miso broth in would bring out an unique flavour of the soup. WOW ! My kids asked me to make more of this recipe, Said put chicken meat instead of pork meat.
Here another thumb-up for you !!! Joyce.
Joyce says
Hi Josie,
Udon noodles are my favourite too, and not that it's fall around here I am eating it allll the time! Miso is such a easy way to whip up a bowl of noodles right? 🙂