the best vegan ramen

The best vegan ramen is from my cookbook, Vegan Comfort Classics, and now you can make it any time you like!

Course dinner

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword japanese gomae, miso, ramen, ramen noodles, soup, tahini

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 2

Servings large

Calories 544kcal

Author Lauren Toyota

Ingredients

broth

2 onions, halved
2 garlic bulbs
2 large sweet potatoes, diced
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 C whole cremini mushrooms
2 C whole shitake mushrooms
2 celery stalks, quartered
3 green onions, quartered
2 thick slices of fresh ginger
½ head of napa cabbage, quartered
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1 large piece kombu seaweed
12 C fresh water

tare

⅓ C low sodium tamari or soy sauce
⅓ C tahini
2 tablespoon red or white miso paste
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

noodles & toppings

4 (3 oz/100 g) packs vegan-friendly ramen noodles
1 carrot, shredded or ribboned
1 C frozen corn, thawed & drained
4 green onions, sliced diagonally
1 C warmed Tofu Bacon Crumbles (optional)
3 teaspoon chili oil or sesame oil (optional)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
On a large baking sheet arrange the onion halves, garlic bulbs, and diced sweet potatoes. Roast for 40 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and there is charring on the vegetables.
Heat vegetable oil in the stockpot over medium heat and combine the mushrooms, celery, green onions, ginger, and cabbage. Add the roasted onion halves and 1 of the roasted garlic bulbs (smashing it a bit to release the roasted garlic). Sauté for 10 minutes until the vegetables are wilted and cooked down a little. Add the salt, ground pepper, kombu, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour
Meanwhile, combine the tare ingredients together until smooth and set aside. This can last in the fridge for up to 1 month but do not freeze it. It's best to make it as you need it.
Strain the broth into another large pot or bowl that can hold about 11 cups of liquid. If you see any of the roasted garlic still intact, reserve the soft cloves, removing the skins. You can also reserve the mushrooms and add to the final bowls of ramen. Compost the strained vegetables! Clean the original stockpot and add the strained broth back in.
In a blender, combine ½ cup of the roasted sweet potatoes with 1 cup of the strained broth, the roasted cloves from the remaining garlic bulb, and any roasted cloves you pulled from the broth. Blend until smooth and cloudy. Add this mixture to the stockpot of broth.
To cook the noodles, bring the finished broth to a boil. Add the noodles and lower the heat to a simmer. They take about 3 minutes to cook. If you’re not serving all portions at the same time, only use the amount of broth and noodles you need. Alternatively, you can cook the ramen in a separate pot of boiling water. Drain but do not rinse. Then add the heated broth at serving. Store the remaining broth in the fridge and consume within 7 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Traditionally bowls are warmed before serving. You can heat them in a microwave or, if they’re oven safe, in a 325°F oven for a few minutes, but it’s not necessary. You can also reheat the remaining sweet potato and tofu bacon crumbles at this time.
To serve, add 2 tablespoons of the tare in the bottom of each bowl. Top with 1 cup of the broth. Stir with a chopstick to mix together. Fill with approximately 1 ½ cups of broth, dependig on the size of the bowl, and add a portion of noodles. Top each serving with shredded carrot, corn, green onion, remainsed sweet potato pieces, and tofu bacon crumbles. Drizzle with chili oil, if desired, or with sesame oil if you don’t want spice.

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