Recipe of the day: Vegetarian ramen soup

Winter is nearly over, but the craving for warmth and comfort still lingers. What better way to satisfy this longing than with a steaming bowl of vegetarian ramen?

It is loaded with essential nutrients that make up for the missing meat on your plate.

As we say bye to the chilly weather, let us welcome the hearty goodness of the homemade vegan ramen.

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Vegetarian ramen soup

• Author: Cassie Best
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Lunch, Dinner
• Method: Boil
• Cuisine: Asian
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 garlic cloves
• Thumb-sized piece ginger, sliced, plus a few slices cut into fine matchsticks to serve (optional)
• 1½ tbsp white miso paste
• 1 tbsp neri goma (white sesame paste) or tahini
• 15g dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1l good-quality vegan stock
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 200g firm tofu, cut into chunky cubes
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp veg or sunflower oil
• 100g (2 x nests) ramen or rice noodles
• 1 head pak choi, quartered
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced, white and green parts kept separate
• 25g ready-to-eat beansprouts
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
• Sesame oil, sriracha, chopped coriander, crushed peanuts, crumbled sheets of nori or dried chilli threads (silgochu), to serve (optional)

Instructions

1. Crush the garlic with the back of a big knife, then put it in a saucepan with the ginger, miso, neri goma, mushrooms, stock and soy. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and bubble for 5 mins until the ginger is soft. Strain into a clean pan and discard everything left in the strainer.
2. Meanwhile, cook the tofu. Toss it in the cornflour and heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry for a few mins on each side, being careful as you turn it that it doesn’t fall apart. Cook the noodles for 1 min less than pack instructions, so they retain a little bite. Drain and leave in the pan with a little cooking water so they don’t stick together.
3. Add the pak choi and whites of the spring onions to the broth and gently reheat for 1-2 mins until the greens have just wilted.
4. Divide the noodles between two deep bowls, ladle over the broth and veg. Top with the tofu, beansprouts, carrot and ginger matchsticks, green parts of the spring onions and a drizzle of sesame oil, plus the other toppings, if you like.

*This recipe was sourced from bbcgoodfood.com.

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