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 

Soup and an Egg

Poached egg on fried lettuce and couscous. What a mix and what a taste! One of my favourite dishes to date. The textures and tastes of all the foods combined is excellent. Another alternative to poached egg on toast too!

 

Out of food Soup

 

So I’m out of food again, and all of my last ingredients are pilled into this hearty soup.

This soup is basically a pot of all the food I have left in the fridge. The last Carrot, the las potato, last bit of lentils, the last bit of peas, last pepper, last of the kidney beans and well.. okay I still have onions. But still.

 

There is a bit of spice in this as I added a little hot sauce for a bit of a tang. It works well and I feel this soup may be a common occurrence when I am running out of veg!

Roast Veggies and Poached Egg with a Difference

On a very hungover day, all I want is Roast vegetables. As you can see from the about of potatoes that I had, I was craving carbs. Nothing can go wrong with a few Roasties for lunch.

Poached Egg on a Bed of Salad and Homemade Tortilla Bread

As you can see I’ve perked up this evening!

Really wanted a poached egg but had no bread. So me being me and not a normal person thought. I’ll make some bread. However, having no yeast, and not wanting soda bread, I decided to opt for tortillas!

This is a tortilla covered in tomato puree, topped with lettuce, onions, peppers, tomatoes with a poached egg on top with some little dipping tortillas on the side #heaven.