The Best [Healthy] Vegan Ramen You’ll Taste
When ramen first got really trendy, I wasn’t very socially conscious.
I was deep into my “lost years”—that’s what I call an almost decade-long period in my 20s when I had an eating disorder, was extremely socially isolated, and essentially lived under a rock.
Before my lost years, in America, we thought ramen was just instant noodles or Justin Timberlake’s 1998 hairdo.
But during my lost years? Boutique ramen shops started opening up everywhere, not just NYC and LA. And said boutique ramen shops never delivered, so as a highly socially isolated person who rarely went out, I never got to try ramen.
Towards the end of my lost years, a guy took me on a date to a ramen spot. I barely had 2 bites because I had my eating disorder and didn’t used to eat in front of people.
But that incident alone unlocked something in me: an obsession with ramen.
The richness of the broth, the umami of the mushrooms, the sweetness of the corn, and the decadence of the soft-boiled egg. I was hooked!
From then on, I tried to DIY some ramen, but it never really worked.
is this a ramen thirst trap?! also—that egg is vegan and homemade!
Vegan Tonkatsu?!
The days of experimenting with ramen broths had been long gone when a few months ago, I suddenly decided I want to take another stab at it. I started doing lots of research, and then graduated to experimenting in the kitchen.
It took a few tries, but I finally was able to create something that has all of the decadence of tonkatsu ramen, with none of the animal products, saturated fat, or excessive heaviness.
The broth is actually quite simple: you sauté onions, garlic, and ginger; add your vegan broth flavor agents (kombu and dried shiitake) and water; let everything simmer. Then you remove the flavor agents, and blend everything with a few more flavor agents, and BAM, you have your creamy, decadent, umami-filled, healing, nourishing, broth!
The Recipe
Ingredients:
a little avocado oil spray
2 big yellow onions
10 cloves of garlic
a knob of ginger—mine was the length of my index finger and the girth of 1/2 my index finger. my fingers are small, I think my index finger is roughly 2”?
7 dried shitake mushrooms
2 big pieces of pacific kombu
7 cups water
3 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/4 tsp ichimi togarashi
2 tbsp toasted sesame paste
Instructions:
Note—you can watch a step by step video on Instagram.
spray a big pot with some avocado oil & heat it up on medium-low heat
dice your onions, garlic, and ginger, but keep them separate
sauté your onions till they go transluscent and start to brown, then add your ginger and garlic
sauté until everything starts to brown and gets fragrant
add the mushrooms, kombu, and water to the pot
give everything a stir and really scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it a little, and then cover the pot
lower the heat to low, and let it simmer for a while. I recommend simmering for 30-40 min at least
take the mixture off the heat and remove the kombu & shitake. we don’t need them anymore, so you can compost them, trash them, or eat them. personally, i don’t like the texture of rehydrated shitake, so I toss those, but I loooove the kombu and will use them to make little wraps.
pour the broth with diced onions/garlic/ginger in a blender, along with the miso, nooch, smoke, togarashi, and sesame paste, and blend until super smooth
in my experience, the broth keeps for a week or so!
Links:
I use this liquid smoke
Togarashi
I used Sichimi Togarashi on top of the ramen. this kind has orange peel, sesame seeds, and some other stuff in it
I used Ichimi Togarashi in the broth. this is just Japanese chili powder.
I love this miso
I used this sesame paste. I recommend using an asian toasted sesame paste rather than tahini for this recipe
Here is a link to all the commonly-used ingredients in my recipes
The Benefits
Compared to traditional tonkatsu ramen, this ramen has:
1/4 of the calories
1/2 the carbs
1/9 of the fat!
6 times as much fiber
It’s incredibly hydrating not just because of the water, but also because it’s so mineral-rich, which helps hydrate you on a cellular level. The shiitake is great for your immune system, the kelp helps support thyroid function, and the healthy fats from sesame are so good for your mood and cognition!
