Flavorful Plant-Based Ramen Bowl
By the Gracious Vegan
It’s taken a while to develop a ramen recipe that tastes great but doesn’t take all day or require two dozen ingredients. I hope this is a good middle path — lots and lots of flavor, lots of choices in terms of toppings, but only about an hour to prepare. It’s amazing what the miso and mushroom flavors do for the taste of this dish. From flat to full-bodied!
Makes 4 servings (about 320 calories per serving)
Mushroom flavor. If you have mushroom powder (like shiitake or porcini mushroom powder), you can use 2 teaspoons of instead of dried mushrooms. If you are using dried mushroom, combine the following two ingredients in a bowl, cover the bowl, and let stand 20 minutes.
4 cups boiling water
1/2 ounce dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms
Drain the mushrooms through a sieve over a bowl; reserve both the mushrooms and the soaking liquid. Once the mushrooms have cooled a bit, slice them and set them aside. (For shiitake, discard the stems first and discard any solids in the liquid.)
Broth. Put the following ingredients together in a Dutch oven or other large soup pan.
The mushroom soaking liquid (about 4 cups)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 small onion, cut into 6 or 8 pieces
1 carrot, sliced into about 8 slices (or 8 baby carrots)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced into thin slices
Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
While the broth is cooking, separately combine the miso and soy sauce in a small bowl or cup and set aside. You’ll add this to the soup at the very end.
2 tablespoons red or yellow miso (What is Miso?)
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
Separately, prepare one or more of these toppings.
8 ounces fresh mushrooms (any variety), sliced – sauté them in water (you could add a little soy sauce and/or roasted sesame paste toward the end, too)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, sliced – I like to broil them with a mixture of 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon water, 2 teaspoons tahini or roasted sesame paste, 2 teaspoons miso
3-4 scallions, sliced
One eggplant, broiled slices (same mixture as tofu)
Baby bok choy, quartered and steamed (for 5 minutes) or broiled
Other (seaweed, extra garlic, corn, peas, beansprouts, cabbage, greens)
Putting it all together. When the broth is done, carefully strain it through a colander over a bowl, discarding the solids (or eat them – the carrots taste great!).
Return the strained broth to the pan over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Add the noodles; cook about 4 minutes or until tender.
Two cakes of dried ramen noodles (I like whole-grain kinds like Lotus Foods Organic Millet and Brown Rice Ramen)
Turn off the heat and stir in:
The miso-soy sauce mixture
2 teaspoons shiitake or porcini mushroom powder, if using
Divide the soup among your serving bowls; top each serving with your desired amounts of toppings (including the rehydrated mushrooms from the very first step).
Timing: About an hour
Gluten-free if you use gluten-free ramen noodles