Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Pho

It’s the week after Thanksgiving, and we find ourselves with a refrigerator bursting at the seams, as we often do. This year was unique because we spent the whole weekend fighting and slowly recovering from a fairly nasty head cold. We were in and out of fever, but more importantly congested and exhausted for almost a full week.

To try and combat feeling run down, Heather was really hankering for pho. This Vietnamese soup has a reputation for having healing powers (for illness as well as hangover), and is something I’ve never actually experienced at a restaurant. We decided to create our own version of the show Chopped, and make pho with the leftovers in the house and our pantry. We didn’t even go out to find noodles or a noodle replacement, and instead added extra bean sprouts. Feel free to add your favorite noodle of choice.

We made our turkey broth with the carcass of the turkey, 2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, a bay leaf, and 1/2 tsp of sea salt. We put the carcass in a stock pot and covered with water and boiled for 16 hours. If this is too much time, or you no longer have your bird, feel free to buy stock from the store—just be sure to read the label!

Ingredients
8 C homemade turkey broth
5 slices of fresh ginger
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 whole star anise pod
1 to 2 lbs turkey breast
handful of Thai basil leaves and bean sprouts each for garnish
lime wedges for garnish

Method

Simmer broth on low with ginger, fish sauce, salt, and star anise covered for 2 hours. Strain out the ginger and star anise. Add turkey breast slices to allow to warm.

Serve in a bowl with a garnish of Thai basil leaves, bean sprouts, and lime wedge.

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