TURKEY OR CHICKEN BROTH PHO

Any worthwhile cooking coach (or your own good sense) will tell you to retain the carcass of any roasted fowl (such as the turkey from Thanksgiving Day dinner or a Sunday dinner’s roast chicken) in order to make of it a full-flavored broth or stock to freeze and for use at other meals.

Here’s a neat twist on that, using such a carcass—and, it’s hoped, some meat scraps—as the base for the Vietnamese all-in-one meal of pho. We tend to down pho as a midday or evening meal, although in Vietnam it’s eaten at all times of day (typically at street-side stalls) but especially in the morning.

Keys to good (and authentic) pho of any kind are getting a noticeable char on the piece of ginger and the first portion of onion; using all the correct Asian spices, plus not skipping on the fish sauce; and being sure to leach from the meat bones every possible drop of flavor.

RECIPE: Turkey or Chicken Carcass Broth Pho
Adapted from “hello angie” on allrecipes.com. Serves 4.

Ingredients
1 whole cardamom pod
2 whole cloves
1 star anise pod
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seed
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
1/2 onion, peeled
1 turkey carcass or 2 chicken carcasses
8 cups water, or more as needed
1 16-ounce package dried flat rice noodles
1/4 cup fish sauce
Salt to taste
1 cup shredded leftover cooked turkey
For the garnishes, per bowl:
1 tablespoon shredded or torn fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 lime, cut into wedges
Chili-garlic sauce (such as Sriracha), to taste

Directions
Toast the cardamom pod, cloves, star anise, fennel, and coriander in a small skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, 5-7 minutes. Place the spices onto the center of an 8-inch square piece of cheesecloth. Gather together the edges of the cheesecloth, and tie with kitchen twine to secure. Sear both sides of the ginger and the 1/2 onion in the same skillet until lightly charred, about 3 minutes on each side.

Place the turkey carcass, water, sachet, ginger, and onion in a large pot over medium-high eat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2 hours.

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the rice noodles, and return to a boil. Cook the noodles uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the noodles have cooked through, but are still firm to the bite, 4-5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

Remove the carcass, sachet, ginger, and onion from the soup. Strain the soup to remove any meat that may have fallen off the bones, if necessary. Season with fish sauce and salt. Divide the rice noodles and turkey meat evenly into 4 large bowls. Scatter the basil, cilantro, and sliced onion on top. Ladle the soup on top. Serve with a wedge of lime and hot sauce.