Christmas Leftovers Noodle Soup

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is all the leftover food. Boxing Day tea usually consists of stuffing, a bit of bread sauce (yuuuum), a spoonful of braised spiced red cabbage, a slice or two of cold turkey, perhaps a roast potato for good measure, with a slice of Christmas cake, a mince pie or a chunk of Panettone or Stollen for pudding. And these makeshift meals are always delightful and relaxed. 

This year one of our usual Christmas Day guests did not manage to attend, so we ended up with a little more leftover turkey than usual. We had a fair few of the controversial Brussel's sprouts left as well. 
After rising at a relaxed hour and pottering about the house leisurely for a few hours, I was ready for some lunch and ready to do some gentle cooking. So these were two of the ingredients that I dug out of the fridge today, when I rustled up a warming bowl of noodle soup. 
Now, I am certain that the Japanese have a culinary title for such a soup/noodle dish, however I do not wish to insult anybody by pretending I know the authentic term nor do I wish to embarrass myself, so I will settle for Noodle Soup, as twee and affected as it may sound!

I apologise for my quantities being very vague and inexact but I literally just threw this together and hoped for the best. To be honest, there is little that you can do wrong with this, it is very much a matter of taste and what you happen to have in your fridge at the time. So get using-up and get experimental - so long as it is hot, contains noodles, some meat, some veg, and plenty of flavour, we are on the same page!

Noodle Soup (serves 1)

Half a 'nest' of dried egg noodles 

1 tsp vegetable stock powder (I used Bouillon powder) 

1 tsp olive oil

4 Brussel's sprouts, sliced

3 broccoli florets, halved

1 generous handful of spinach leaves

1/4 tsp root ginger, finely chopped/grated

1 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped

a handful of cooked turkey strips/chunks 

1 egg yolk (optional)

1/2 tbsp soy sauce

a splash fish sauce

one miniscule pinhead droplet of truffle oil 

salt and black pepper

a squeeze of lemon juice

Fill a small pan with enough water to cover the noodles (about half full), add the stock powder and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok and add the sprouts and broccoli. Stir-fry gently. 

Once the water is boiling, add the noodles, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 4 minutes.

Back at the wok, add the parsley and ginger. Cook for just a minute. 

Add the spinach, soy sauce, lemon juice and season well. 

Once the spinach has wilted and everything is cooked but definitely al dente, transfer to a heat-proof serving bowl and put this on top of the pan you are cooking the noodles in. This will keep the veg and bowl warm while you free up the wok for the turkey and egg.

Put the turkey in the wok, turn up the heat, and heat for a few minutes until piping hot. Add the lightly beaten egg yolk and stir briskly and roughly, keeping it on the move so that it cooks quickly and does not stick, and so that it coats the pieces of turkey. This will just take a minute - once the egg is cooked and the turkey is heated well all the way through, it is time to serve up. 

Drain the noodles and put them in the bowl with the vegetables. Add about a third of the stock/cooking water (or whatever seems appropriate with regard to the amount of water you used) and then put the turkey and egg on top. Season well, add the fish sauce and truffle oil (be extremely sparing, you should barely add any at all, it is so potent!). 

Enjoy the comforting, warming homeliness and smile at the assurance that you have not wasted any of the good things you served on Christmas Day : )