Vegan Ramen Bowl
I realized about halfway through this meal that I really wished I had made enough broth for it to be a full-on Pho. Pho is Vietnamese soup and my Ramen bowl is more of a Pho light… as in light on broth.
Today’s meal prep felt longer than usual. I was distracted by the beautiful weather and the dismay of the weekend being over. I also got started a lot later than usual so that didn’t help. I stopped by Publix and Whole Foods to get the items on the grocery list from the Best of Both Food Worlds meal plan. Luckily, I had a few on hand already so the actual shopping part was relatively quick. I tweeted the trip and picked up a few extra items like tofu.
Here’s what you need for this dish:
| Produce: | Dry: | Optional: |
| Bell peppers (2 sliced) | Vegan Ramen Noodles (1 bag) | Tofu |
| Sweet Onion (1/2 sliced) | Vegetable Stock (16 oz) | Sriracha |
| Broccoli (about 1/2 cup, florets and short stems only) | Soy Sauce (8 oz) | |
| Fresh Ginger (palm sized, minced) | Sesame Oil (8 oz) | |
| Garlic (2 tbsp) | ||
| Green onion (1 bundle) | ||
| Edamame (8 ounces) | ||
| Carrots (matchstick bag or one fresh, about 1/4 cup) | ||
| Bean Sprouts (1 fresh container) |
- Start with the broth. Warm a medium sauce pan. Add 6 oz of the Sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Allow it to simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add the onions. When the onions start to brown, add the vegetable stock. When the mixture begins to boil add 4 oz of the soy sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes
- After 15 minutes, stir the mixture and taste. Add more soy sauce if needed. Return to a low simmer.
- Chop the bell peppers, onions, and carrots. Saute in the remaining sesame oil for 3-4 minutes. Avoid letting them lose their crispness.
- When the vegetables are done cooking, remove them from heat, sprinkle the edamame in the pan and allow them to warm through the residual heat of the vegetables.
- Bring water to boil for the Ramen noodles. Cook according to the package instructions – if it says cook for 2 minutes, it’s because they cook incredibly fast and also turn to mush incredibly fast.
- If you’re using pre-seasoned and/or baked tofu, warm it in a pan.
- Stir and taste the broth again. Add more soy, stock, or garlic to taste, if needed.
- Strain the noodles.
- Rinse the bean sprouts.
- In a bowl, layer on the noodles, sauted vegetables, broth, tofu, and bean sprouts.
- Add Sriracha, if wanted and only if you’re eating/serving it now.
- Serve and enjoy! OR take a bite and pack in your meal prep containers for the week.
This recipe was inspired by The Minimalist Chef. I made it almost exactly following her recipe last week for my brother who is vegan. It was amazing. Then I used my left over ingredients a few days later to make it again and realized I actually really liked the simplified version. It felt good to spend less time in the kitchen and still get a great ramen bowl. After all, I am a lazy cook.
How did yours turn out? Did you decide to add meat? What did you change?
Hey, Taste This 