Vegan Ramen Bowl

Posted on May 9, 2016 Updated on May 9, 2016

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:

1. 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
2. After 15 minutes, stir the mixture and taste. Add more soy sauce if needed. Return to a low simmer.
3. Chop the bell peppers, onions, and carrots. Saute in the remaining sesame oil for 3-4 minutes. Avoid letting them lose their crispness.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. If you’re using pre-seasoned and/or baked tofu, warm it in a pan.
7. Stir and taste the broth again. Add more soy, stock, or garlic to taste, if needed.
8. Strain the noodles.
9. Rinse the bean sprouts.
10. In a bowl, layer on the noodles, sauted vegetables, broth, tofu, and bean sprouts.
11. Add Sriracha, if wanted and only if you’re eating/serving it now.
12. 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?