Creamy, rich, vegan ramen is definitely possible,
and super easy to make at home!
Ramen has always been something I adored, although I had only ever tried it once I was vegetarian. Any of the vegan ramen places I tried would make a miso-based ramen, but it didn’t live up to the rich, fatty ramen noodles that embodied true, Japanese comfort food. While this is nowhere near a traditional Japanese recipe, this is my take on a comforting, gluten-free, yet rich bowl of noodles.
Now onto my brain-dump: I’ve always prided myself is being open-minded. At least I try to. I try to admit when I’m wrong. I hope I can be humble and open to learning. I do my best to learn from my mistakes. My mistake was being a judgmental b*tch =P
I used to be incredibly judgmental. I used to fat-shame, I criticized people on their hair and their makeup or just their person in general. I’m not proud of it, and anytime those judgments passed my lips, I felt this feeling of guilt gnaw deep inside me. I think I’ve tried to compensate for that guilt by doing everything I can to be a better more compassionate person, but I still look back at myself and cringe.
They say that people say horrible things like that because they feel that way on the inside, and while I’d like to say that was true for me, I don’t necessarily think that’s why I said it. I grew up among judgmental people, and Vietnamese culture in general is quite critical (while I think they’re just more blunt, but translating the remarks from Vietnamese into English comes across very harsh).
Maybe I had convinced myself that me pointing those things out were ways of not being that way myself? But that in of itself indicated my skewed perception of body image and acceptance of people. There’s no justification of my past, just how I can be better now.
To anyone who knew me before as a super critical, or unpleasant person, I apologize. I have no excuse. I do my best to be a body positive, compassionate and kind person now. I’ve come to accept my weirdness, my “flaws”, and basically stopped caring what other people do with their appearance because frankly it doesn’t affect me and it’s none of my business anyway.
I like to think that I’ve grown up, but hey, I’m still young. I’ve got a lot more to learn.
To see the recipe in video form, watch it here:
Vegan Ramen (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 2-3 bricks of vegan ramen noodles (I used gluten-free ones, you can see the brand in the video)
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 1/2 tbsp tamari (or GF soy sauce)
- 4 cups vegetable broth (I used water + 1 heaping tbsp mushroom broth)
- 2 large bulbs of Shanghai bok choy, cut into strips*
- 1 cup of puffed tofu balls, cut diagonally**
- 1 cup spinach (you can omit this if you want to focus on the bok choy)
- Optional:
- Green onion (either as a garnish, or you could use the diced whites at the beginning to flavour the broth)
- Kimchi for topping
- Thinly sliced red cabbage for garnish
- Toasted sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Cook the ramen noodles as directed on the package. Divide between two bowls.
- In a small bowl, combine tahini, lemon juice, and tamari until smooth and uniform.
- In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of broth to a boil. Add whites of green onion if using here.
- Add the tahini mixture and mix until incorporated into the broth.
- Add your vegetables and tofu to cook through, then taste to adjust seasoning. Feel free to add more salt, pepper, or sesame oil if desired.
- Divide soup between two bowls, and add your preferred garnishes!
- Enjoy :)
Notes
*I used broccoli in my video because I ran out, but I prefer having the bok choy
**I've also used fried firm tofu tossed in cornstarch before and it tasted just as delicious in this recipe :)
Jessie says
Thanks for opening up about your past flaws, Lisa. I’ve been overweight my entire life and although fat shaming wasn’t a part of my every day life, it was a part of my regular life and it has effected me in more ways than I wish to admit (I try not to let it get to me, but we are human and it’s still something I struggle with mentally to this day). I don’t think others understand how damaging it can be to someone, so it is comforting to hear that you have turned around in your ways. I think we all can learn from the mistakes of our past to become more compassionate to not only other people, but ourselves.
Lisa Le says
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment, Jessie. I used to be body shamed a lot by my family and people around me too, and I think I turned that feeling outward and it’s something I’m ashamed of every day. I hope you are able to overcome your experiences of fat shaming and I hope you can forgive anyone who did that to you, because if they were anything like me, they probably had their own demons to contend with as well.
Joyce says
Just made this for dinner. The broth is so creamy and delicious! I added some korean red pepper paste to give it a kick.
Alli Debrow says
This was so easy to prepare! We loved it as part of our get back to plant based diet. We added lime and ginger to kick it up a little. Quite yummy!
Lexie says
I just recently had to go dairy, soy, and gluten free, much to my dissatisfaction, which eliminated quite the variety of foods from my diet that I’ve been so fond of– like ramen, but with this recipe, I can hardly be despondent! Not only is it healthy, but it’s absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing. Both my parents and siblings (all under 9 years old and picky eaters, and admittedly, as am I) send their appreciation, too. I guess we can officially add a new, tasty dinner to our weekly line-up!!
Lisa Le says
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Lauren says
Hey! I couldn’t see a pop up for the mushroom powder. Which is it?
Lisa Le says
Hi Lauren! Sorry the pop-up shows up on the YouTube channel. The video is here :)
Amy says
I tried this dish and it is too sour for my American palate.
Lisa Le says
Sorry to hear that! I do love lemon juice a lot, but you can reduce it to your preference in the future :)
Maryam says
I tried this and the tahini separated from the broth? Is my tahini terrible? What did I do wrong? Help!!!!!!!!
Lisa Le says
Hi Maryam! Some brands of tahini don’t emulsify as easily into broth as others! It’s okay. It’ll still taste good. In your case it’s kind of like how miso soup separates unless you give it a bit of a stir.