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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Chop the mushrooms, courgette and cabbage, then add to the broth with the water chestnuts.
- Add the two eggs to the broth for 5 minutes to cook then remove and place in cold water.
- Add the noodles to the broth and cook for 5 minutes, or to cooking instructions.
- Whilst the noodles are boiling, peel the eggs shells off and place the white eggs into the broth for final cooking and liquid absorption.
- 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