Cheat’s Ramen

Whilst this recipe has moved somewhat away from our ‘China series’ and into the Japanese sphere, I have not veered too drastically off path. See, the name ramen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese lamian (拉麵) and is in fact, a modern adaptation of Chinese cuisine that was introduced to Japan over a century ago and actually, until the 50s, ramen was called shina soba, 支那そば, literally meaning ‘Chinese soba’.

Whilst ramen is traditionally a meat or fish based broth, this version is a fantastic vegetarian alternative, taking just 30 minutes to whip up. It can also easily be made vegan.

Serves two

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the broth:

• 1 small chilli (Only use half, or even remove, if you are not a fan of spicy foods)
• 2 spring onions
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 stick celery
• 1 clove garlic
• 600ml boiling water (You may need a touch more if the water evaporates)
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs mirin (Japanese rice wine vinegar)

To add:

• 100g ramen noodles 
• 4 large mushrooms
• 1/2 a courgette
• 1/4 cabbage
• 5 water chestnuts
• 2 eggs (remove if making vegan)

Method:

1.  Chop the chilli, celery and spring onions (leaving a little spring onion to garnish). Fry for 1 minute in a large saucepan on a low heat then add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further minute.
2. Add all of the remaining liquid ingredients, as well as the stock cube to the saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes until the kitchen fills with a wonderful aroma.
3. Chop the mushrooms, courgette and cabbage, then add to the broth with the water chestnuts.
4. Add the two eggs to the broth for 5 minutes to cook then remove and place in cold water.
5. Add the noodles to the broth and cook for 5 minutes, or to cooking instructions.
6. Whilst the noodles are boiling, peel the eggs shells off and place the white eggs into the broth for final cooking and liquid absorption.
7. Finish with a few sprigs of spring onion and serve in a bowl with chopsticks and a Japanese soup spoon (or a fork and soup spoon).

Enjoy! Tanoshimimasu – 楽しみます 

• Asian
• Chinese
• Chinese new Year
• detox
• Egg
• Health
• Japanese
• Noodles
• Protein
• Ramen
• Ribenguo
• vegan
• vegetarian