Now that you’ve made the holiday ham and had your dinner party, what to do with the leftovers? A few days ago I shared how to make a quick an easy leftover ham fried rice that tastes even better than Chinese takeout. Today I want to share another super fast recipe that turns your leftover ham into a scrumptious one-pot meal.
How to make instant ramen taste even better
Instant ramen might be one of the greatest inventions. You simply need to boil some water and cook the noodles with the packaged seasoning, then you’ll have your dinner ready in 5 minutes. However, with 10 minutes and a few more ingredients, you can turn the classic college dorm food into a gourmet-level dinner. My recipe uses a very simple curry base made with butter, garlic, coconut milk, and some broth to create a thick and hearty ramen soup. Then throw in the instant ramen, some greens, and a few slices of leftover ham. You’d be surprised how rich and delicious the end result is. This recipe is perfect when cooking for one, but you can easily increase the serving size using the same method.
Cooking process
(1) Combine the butter, garlic and curry powder in a saucepan. (2) Gently saute the mixture to release the fragrance. (3) Add the coconut milk and bring it to a simmer. P.S. – I noticed that adding coconut milk first will blend the curry flavor better and create a more rounded taste. (4) Add the broth and bring it to a simmer. Add the ramen and baby bok choy. Cook for 3 minutes and then serve! P.S. – You can also add the ham during this step so the ham will be hot when the noodles are done. I heated the ham in the microwave, so the final dish would have a more beautiful look.
Cooking notes and how to alter the recipe
Add an egg into the ramen
I included a soft-boiled egg in the recipe so the finished dish would have that ramen look. To simplify the process, you can simply crack an egg when you add the ramen noodles, to make a soft poached egg. The egg white should be cooked, while the yolk should be runny after 3 minutes. However, if you find the egg too runny, you can transfer the noodles into the serving bowl using a pair of tongs (or chopsticks), and let the egg cook a bit longer in the broth. So your noodles won’t be overcooked.
Other veggies that work
If you don’t have baby bok choy, you can use other veggies, as well. For example, kale, broccoli, spinach, bean sprouts, and collard greens all work in this recipe. If you’re using spinach or bean sprouts, you should add them at the last minute because they cook very fast.
How to heat up the ham
You can heat up the ham in the ramen broth, as instructed in the recipe. This is the fastest way. I heated my ham up in the microwave, so the finished dish would have a more appealing look. If you want the dish to be fancier, you can heat up the ham with a bit of oil in a nonstick pan. It will crisp up the ham and render off the extra fat while heating it through. It’s perfect when you use glazed ham such as this Pineapple Glazed Ham. The glaze will be caramelized and create a super delicious result.
Toppings
This recipe creates a rich broth. Combined with the ham, you don’t really need a lot of toppings other than some green onion to add a touch of freshness. If you happen to have some homemade chili oil, you can add a drizzle to further add fragrance and some spiciness. For added spiciness, you can also add any other hot sauce you prefer. I didn’t add any salt to the broth. I think the salty ham lends enough saltiness to the dish. If you wish to adjust the seasoning, feel free to add a pinch of salt or a drizzle of soy sauce at the end of cooking.
Other easy one-bowl recipes
Leftover Ham Fried Rice with Pineapple 5-Ingredient Savory Oatmeal (Chinese-Style) Korean Fire Chicken (Cheese Buldak) Japchae (Korean Sweet Potato Noodles) Cantonese Ground Beef Rice and Eggs
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
