Ramen has become one of the most popular dishes in recent years. Bowls full of this delicious soup of Japanese origin are on the menu of many restaurants and bars around the world, and instant ramen noodles and packets for making ramen soup at home are easy to find at any store. what a supermarket.
What is ramen and what does it contain?
Ramen or ramen soup is originally a street food. But unlike other street fast food dishes, this is not only a comforting recipe but also a truly nutritious and balanced recipe.
The ramen recipe has a thousand forms, although in traditional ramen we usually always find a series of ingredients:
- Broth meat or vegetables.
- Concentrated sauce to season it based on soy or miso sauce which is placed in the bowl before pouring the broth.
- wheat noodles.
- Others ingredients used as a filling such as different meats, fish, eggs, tofu, seaweed, mushrooms, raw or cooked vegetables, ginger or chives.
Traditionally, the preparation requires hours of cooking. However, we can prepare this dish faster, so that we can have it on the table in about 20 minutes.
Ramen is an ideal option for the colder months, as it helps us warm up.
How to make vegetarian ramen
To make vegetarian ramen, we will only use vegetable broth and season it with garlic, ginger, dried shiitake mushrooms for umami flavor and the typical soy sauce or miso. To save time, you can season the broth directly.
Same we can make other small changes in this vegetable version of ramen, such as:
- Replace traditional wheat noodles with brown rice or buckwheat noodles make a gluten-free version of ramen.
- Replace wheat noodles with chickpea or red lentil spaghettiwhich are not only gluten-free, but also allow us to make a higher protein version of vegetarian ramen.
- Use zucchini noodles, squash or shirataki noodles if we want to prepare a dish lighter low carb.
as garnish In a vegetarian ramen you can use: a fried or sautéed egg, tofu or tempeh or legumes. And, to complete the dish, it is convenient to use different types of vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, edamame, peas, bok choy, spinach…
The vegetable it is better to cook it separately: grilled, sautéed, in the oven… Or, if you prefer, chop it finely and add it raw.
And to give a final touch to our ramen recipe, it will be very rich if we add aromatic herbs like the green part of a chive, cilantro, chives, some crunchy dried fruit and a bit of hot sauce.
3 easy, vegetarian ramen recipes
Here are three ramen recipes to get you started. You can use it as inspiration to create your own variations.
1. Tofu Ramen with Bok Choy and Carrot
A 100% vegetable version of the famous dish, suitable for vegans.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PERSONS
- 200g ramen noodles
- 1.5 liters of vegetable stock
- 200g of tofu
- 4 pieces of bok choy
- 1 carrot
- 2 hydrated shiitake mushrooms
- 1 spring onion with the green part
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2cm of fresh ginger
- 1 cayenne
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon of miso
- soya sauce
- olive oil or other neutral-tasting oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame
PREPARATION:
- Start by preparing all the vegetables. Cut off the green part of the spring onion, cut into slices and set aside. Peel the spring onion and cut it into wedges. Peel and chop two cloves of garlic and the ginger. Peel the carrot and cut it into julienne. Wash the bok choy well and cut it in half lengthwise.
- In a pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic, cayenne pepper and ginger and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the vegetable broth, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and the shiitake mushrooms and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, or if you have time up to 1 hour. The longer you cook the broth, the more flavor it will have.
- While broth cooks, prepare tofu and vegetables for garnish. Open the package of tofu, discard the water, wrap it in a tea towel and place a weight on it to dry it well.
- In a bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of soy sauce with the garlic powder. Dice the tofu, add to the soy marinade and mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and dry well.
- In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and, once hot, place the bok choy with the cut side down and cook for about 2 minutes. Turn it over, add the rest of the minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and cook until cooked. Guardian.
- In the same pan add a little oil, the carrot and cook for 2-3 minutes with a little salt. Guardian.
- Prepare the noodles. Strain broth, return to saucepan and taste. If necessary, add more soy sauce or salt. Bring to a boil, add noodles and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- While the noodles cook, cook the tofu. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the tofu until crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside. Once the noodles are ready, turn off the heat and add the sesame oil and miso. Mix well.
- Divide the ramen into 4 bowls and garnish with the tofu, bok choy, carrot. Sprinkle with the green part of the new onion and the sesame.
Preparation time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
2. Creamy Mushroom Ramen
If we need a very comforting dish, this creamy ramen recipe is perfect for us. This is a perfect vegetarian ramen for rainy and cold days when we need to warm up the body and uplift the spirit. You can make it vegetarian with eggs or vegan with smoked tofu or tempeh.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PERSONS
- 200g ramen noodles
- 4 hard-boiled eggs or 200g smoked tofu or tempeh
- 400 g of mushrooms or mushrooms
- 200g baby spinach or kale
- 100g frozen or cooked corn
- 400ml coconut milk for cooking
- 1 liter vegetable stock or water
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 piece of ginger (about 1 cm)
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
- 1 handful of fresh cilantro, to garnish
- chilli or cayenne oil to garnish
- Salt
PREPARATION:
- Cook the eggs, if you plan to use them. If using tofu or tempeh, dice it and cook in a skillet until crispy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Prepare the vegetable. Peel and mince the garlic. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth and cut them into strips. Wash spinach or kale.
- In a pot heat the oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, broth, nutritional yeast, salt and soy sauce and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the noodles and corn and cook until the pasta is cooked, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, usually about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, add the spinach and vinegar and let the spinach cook over the remaining heat. Taste the taste and add more salt or soy sauce, if needed.
- Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with hard-boiled eggs or tempeh, cilantro and cayenne pepper.
Preparation time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 10 minutes
3. Keto Ramen with Zucchini Noodles and Peanut Sauce
A lighter, low carb ramen recipe for those watching their figure or on a low carb diet. Instead of wheat noodles, we use zucchini noodles. They could also be replaced with shirataki noodles.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PERSONS
- 2 zucchini
- 1 liter vegetable stock or water
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2cm of ginger
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon hot chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- a pinch of stevia (optional)
- 2 chives (only the green part, to garnish)
- 1 handful of cilantro
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
- chili flakes
- Slices of lemons
PREPARATION:
- Prepare the vegetable. Peel and chop the garlic and ginger. Cut the ends of the zucchini and using a spiralizer make zucchini noodles.
- In a pot, heat the oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini noodles, salt and make a few turns in the pan.
- Add broth, soy sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Scoop half a cup of broth from the ramen into a mug. Add peanut butter, chili sauce, lemon juice and sweetener and mix well. Return to saucepan and mix well. Cook for 1 minute over very low heat.
- Meanwhile, chop the onion. Divide the ramen into 4 bowls and garnish with the chives, cilantro and peanuts.
Preparation time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 10 minutes.
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