Ramen
Ramen. Oh, how I have loved you for many years. You come in hundreds of varieties and range in price starting at $0.10 a pack if the person wants to go cheap on a meal. I love the versatility of ramen; the possibilities really are endless on what goes in it. When it comes to the noodles, I’m kinda picky. My first choice will always be noodles from Sun Noodle, but I have to order them online to get them and they need to be frozen. I will usually buy them in bulk when I do, so I can minimize shipping costs and store them in the freezer until ready to make them. If I don’t have Sun Noodle in the freezer, I will go my second favorite noodle from Ocean’s Halo. Their organic ramen noodles are minimally processed and have a nice texture to them. As much as I love the noodle packs that come in those cheap ramen packs, they are filled with processed ingredients I would rather avoid. You can buy the Sun Noodle packs with or without broth, and the spicy sesame and 1910 Shoyu broths are delicious. I need to try the miso soup next time I order from them. Depending on the mood and what I have in the fridge, I will add a variety of veggies and goodies to the broth before I add the noodles. I will usually sauté the veggies in olive oil before adding the broth and let simmer for a bit. The noodles don’t need to be cooked long at all, so I wait until the last minute to boil them. Some of my standard ramen toppings include edamame, bok choy, spinach, kale, baked tofu, green onions, peanuts, mushrooms, and everything but the bagel seasoning by TJ’s. If I don’t have the broth from Sun Noodle, I will usually make a broth of water mixed with the Better Than Bouillon garlic base and vegan chicken-less bases. My pantry is full of TJ’s spices, so I usually add their Umami mushroom seasoning, garlic powder, South African smoke seasoning blend, EBTBS, and Italian Soffrito depending on the day. My next move will be to work on making various broths from scratch to share with all of you. As much as I like convenience, (don’t we all?) I really want to implement more Whole Foods Plant Based meals into my everyday life. It is easy to get lazy with frozen food, or PB&J’s, but after getting the new cookbook from Dr. Michael Greger, “How Not to Diet” I was inspired to go back to my WFPB roots. Below I included the way I cook both ramens I mentioned above, and I will be adding more homemade based ramens in the future for you. Feel free to use my recipes below as a starting point to get inspired to add whatever you want to yours. Hot sauce, jalapenos, sprouts, peppers, broccoli, etc. You get the idea, and I would love to hear your recipes or recommendations in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this far!
Sun Noodle Broth Based Ramen and Better Than Bouillon Based Ramen
Ingredients
- 1 pack of Sun Noodle Ramen Noodles (Sub out Ocean’s Halo or any other ramen noodles you have)
- 1 packet of Sun Noodle broth (Sub out 1-2 cups water and 1 ½ teaspoons of the BTB bases depending on how much broth you want with your noodles)
- 5 Bok Choy leaves. You could sub out for 1 cup of frozen spinach or kale here.
- 1 block of Trader Joe’s Teriyaki Baked Tofu (the Sriracha one is also good) diced up into cubes
- 3 tablespoons of fresh or frozen edamame. I like the fresh kind from TJ’s.
- 1 cup of diced mushrooms. I like cremini mushrooms but will switch it up occasionally.
- Salt and Pepper to taste.
Instructions
- Heating the stove to medium heat, drizzle the olive oil into a pot that will end up holding everything. Once heated, add mushrooms to pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add your greens in and edamame to the pan. Cook until greens start to wilt and add your seasonings here. Stir well too make sure everything is well covered in the spices. Add broth or water and bring to a low boil. Add BTB base here if using, by just moving spoon around in warm water until the base has melted into the water. I like to let this all cook together for a bit to try and marry all the flavors together.
- While the broth simmers, cook the noodles by their instructions in a separate pot. Once cooked, drop them into the broth and stir well. Turn off stove and let the noodles rest in the broth for a couple minutes to soak up the broth.
- Chop green onions and peanuts while soup sits and add to ramen once it has been plated. Sprinkle Everything But the Bagel seasoning on top and enjoy!
Notes:
Remember, these are just some of my favorite ways to make ramen. The possibilities are endless and it's fun to get creative with trying new ingredients.
