Looking for a delicious and healthy vegetarian dinner? Look no further than this vegan version of ramen, a classic Japanese noodle dish! Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of noodles served in a broth with umami flavors, served with toppings. This flavorful dish features noodles served in a savory broth infused with umami flavors from gochunjang and soy, and loaded with fresh veggies like bok choy. Topped with crumbled tofu for added protein, this ramen is the perfect comfort food. Whether you're a longtime fan of ramen or new to the dish, this recipe is sure to satisfy your taste buds and leave you feeling nourished and satisfied.

Happy Cooking!

Servings: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 25-30 minutes

Cooking Time: 1-1.5 hours

Total Time: 1.5-2 hours

Ingredients: 

Broth:

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 3 cloves of Garlic 

• 1-1.5 inches of Ginger 

• 2-3 Scallion whites chopped

• 3-4 white Mushrooms roughly chopped

• 1 vegetarian Bouillon cube 

• 1.5 tbsp Tomato paste 

• 2 tbsp Gochujang 

• 1.5-2 tbsp chopped celery

• 1.5 tsp Gochugaru or chili flakes

• 2 tsp Sesame seeds

• 1/4 tsp white Pepper powder

• Salt as per taste

• 1/8 tsp ajinomoto

• 1.5-2 cups Water 

• 1-1.25 cup Milk; any nut milk you like or whole milk

• 1 tbsp light Soy sauce 

Tofu Crumble:

• 6-8 oz firm or extra firm tofu; pressed, check notes

• 1 tbsp chili oil or sesame oil

• 1 tbsp chili flakes (if you’re not using chili oil)

• Salt as per taste

Bokchoy:

• 1 tbsp Sesame oil

• 2-3 Baby bok choy

• A pinch of salt

Assemble:

• 6-8 oz ramen-style noodles

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce per bowl

• Chili oil/ chili crunch

• Everything bagel seasoning

• Scallion greens

• Jammy or hard-boiled eggs if you want

Directions: 

1. Broth: Put a saucepan on low-medium heat. Add sesame oil when warm.

2. Once warm, add chopped ginger, garlic, scallions, and mushrooms and saute for 6-8 mins on low-medium heat.

3. Once everything is well sauteed and starts to brown, add tomato paste, gochujang, bouillon cube, chopped celery, salt, pepper, sesame seeds, gochugaru, and Ajinomoto. Cook for 3-4 mins till everything is well combined & cooked.

4. Add water and mix. Keep aside to cool and then blend into a smooth broth. When it’s cooling, I like to make the tofu crumbles and bok choy.

5. Once smooth, transfer it back to the saucepan and let it start heating up on low-medium heat.

6. Add milk and soy sauce and mix them together.

7. Let it simmer on a low boil for 15-20 mins. The broth is ready!

8. Tofu Crumbles: Put a saute pan on medium heat. Add chili oil.

9. Crumble the pressed tofu into the pan, add a pinch of salt, and saute for 6-8 mins sauteing it. Cook it till it’s cooked through and starts getting crispy! Keep aside.

10. Bok Choy: Put a saute pan ( I like to use the same one) on medium heat. Add sesame oil.

11. Cut each of the baby bok choy into 4 divisions, lengthwise.

12. Place each division on the warm oil and cook till it’s charred and browned. Flip over and cook the other edge of the division.

13. Once it cooks flip it on its back and cook. Sprinkle some salt over the bok choy! The bok choy is ready.

14. Noodles: Boil noodles in boiling water as per package instructions.

15. Assemble: Put a tbsp of soy sauce in the base of the bowl you’re assembling the ramen in.

16. Pour hot broth into the bowl.

17. Put noodles in the bowl, I like to put about 1.5 oz of noodles in each serving.

18. Top with crumbled tofu, and charred bok choy.

19. Drizzle some chili oil/crunch over everything and then sprinkle some everything bagel seasoning.

20. Top with the greens of the scallions and serve hot!

Notes/Tips:

• If you don’t have a tofu press- drain the tofu water that comes in the container. Wrap the tofu block in a paper towel. If it’s a thin paper towel, double-wrap it. Place something that is a little heavy on it that presses it down slightly. Let it sit for 20-30 mins.

• For a homemade chili crunch recipe, click here.

• You can make the broth from before and keep it. Bring it to a boil when assembling.

• You can even make the tofu crumble from before and reheat it when serving. I would not recommend cooking the bok choy from before, I don’t like the texture if recooked or overcooked.

• Letting the broth simmer on low at the end, helps the flavors marinate well.