This ramen is such a great way to use up holiday leftovers. You’ve probably got stuff like mushrooms and green beans already in your fridge as we speak! In this case I’ve made the tsukune with ground turkey, but you could use ground chicken or pork, or your favorite vegetarian meatball.
Makes 4 servings
Tsukune
1 pound ground turkey (dark meat), chicken, or pork
Small handful (~1/2 cup) of panko breadcrumbs*
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons grated ginger
¼ cup thinly sliced shiso leaves (aka perilla or Korean sesame; optional, but tasty)
1 thinly sliced green onion
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon miso
Few pinches of dashi granules or salt
*If you’re making this a truly holiday leftovers meal, you could use leftover bread crumb stuffing instead of the panko; if you do, just leave out the egg.
Tare for the Tsukune
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup mirin
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp dashi broth (instant is fine)
2 tsp brown sugar or honey
Soup
4 cups (preferably homemade) turkey or chicken stock
4 cups dashi (homemade or with dashi granules)
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons miso
Salt to taste
1 pack (12 to 15 ounces) Umi Organic ramen noodles
Optional add-ins
Finely sliced green beans
Thinly sliced and sautéed shiitake mushrooms (or bite-sized pieces of maitake or shimeji)
Thinly sliced scallions
Rough-chopped mitsuba parsley, celery leaves, or Italian flat-leaf parsley
Soft-cooked egg
Nori
Chile oil
Directions
Preheat your oven broiler to high. Combine the tsukune ingredients in a large bowl, mixing very well until the meat becomes a bit sticky. Form the mix into ¼ cup-sized meatballs (should make about 16).
Combine the tare ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir well to dissolve the honey. Set aside.
Broil the meatballs on a greased sheet pan on the middle rack for five minutes, then turn them and broil another four minutes longer. Brush generously with the tare, then return to the oven for one more minute. Brush again with the tare, using the rest of it, and leave in a warm place until the noodles are ready.
While the water for the noodles is coming to a boil, bring the turkey or chicken stock and dashi to a simmer. Add the mirin, soy sauce, and miso stirring until the miso is dissolved.
Tease apart ramen noodles and add to boiling water. Stir and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain well. Rinse well, shake off extra water, then portion into four bowls. Ladle in the broth, then add the tsukune and preferred toppings. Itadakimasu!
