Turkey Faux Pho — an Asian inspired soup

There is just one problem with a batch of good broth. Those little bitty tiny bitty bits of meat on the bones! Now I belong to the waste not want not school, so I have to pick the meat off the bones and use it somehow. But what do you do with 3/4 cup or so of teeny tiny pieces of meat?

I had been experimenting a bit with making some sort of meatballs but most of my test versions fell apart, oh well! Back to the drawing board!

But this time, I turned the idea on its head a bit. Instead of a meatball, why not a wonton? This turned out quite well. Delicious, fairly easy, healthy and frugal. All the right stuff. Here's how to make it ...


Hot Turkey Faux Pho Soup
by Renée

Combine in a small bowl:
3/4 cup minced turkey
1 tsp minced ginger
1 large clove minced garlic
1 T or so sliced green onion
1/4 tsp or so red pepper flakes
2 tsp dark soy sauce
juice from 1/2 lime
1 splash fish sauce
             2 tsp cornstarch




Place one tsp of filling in a wonton wrapper, working quickly so they don't dry out too much. Fold the wrapper over and seal the edges with a little egg.  Crimp the two corners of the triangle's widest base together .

 Bring to boil and let simmer for 20 minutes or so:

3 or 4 cups turkey or chicken broth
2 or 3 star of anise 
1 cinnamon stick
a pinch of cardamon
a pinch of ginger

These are the traditional spices used for Vietnamese Pho soup. They make a really nice complex flavored broth. After the broth has simmered a bit add:

3/4 cup grated carrot
wontons one at a time

Let the soup return to boil. Cook the wontons for 3-5 minutes, to ensure they come to temperature and are cooked through.

Ladle some soup and wontons into a bowl. Dip a ladle into the boiling soup that contains

thinly sliced napa cabbage leaves

Cook the cabbage just a few moments so that the leaves change color but are not wilted. Add to the soup and garnish with your choice of

Fresh cilantro, mint, Thai basil or coriander
sliced jalapeno
Sriracha sauce

This was a delicious soup!