Easy Vegan Shōyu Ramen

If you want to get an idea of how I feel about today's recipe, you have to picture me sort of barging in to "read you this post", like I'm kinda out of breath, a little glowy and sorta pink in the face. I'm visibly excited.  Got it? Okay.

Oh. my. god. Easy vegan shōyu ramen. Crispy pan-fried tofu, rich shōyu vegetable broth, buttery slices of Creamer potato, and all the toppings (carrot ribbons, bean sprouts, thin-sliced mushrooms, spinach, and green onion.) MMhhmmm...

In the spirit of today's recipe, I'm gonna spill a little bit about our hopes and dreams for the future.

Unless you've visited our "About page", you might not know that we (William and I) are super duper excited to (hopefully!) spend a year in Japan sometime within the next 5 years. It just so happens that Canadians can spend an entire year in Japan (rather than the standard 3 months) on a "working vacation", sometime between the ages of 19-30. Right now, we're both 25 so we've still got some time to get our ducks in a row.

William's already been working on learning Japanese - I learn a little here and there casually - so far I know a handful of words and phrases, like onsen 温泉 (hot spring - very important and the #1 reason Japan is #1 on our "Travel To" list), inu 犬 (dog), and sandoicchi サンドイッチ (sandwich - also my favourite word thus far.) If I've impressed you with my extensive knowledge of Japanese language,  I'll have you know that I've also asked William for the English to Japanese translation for 'tofu". *Facepalm*

There's plenty of time for me to share more about our year in Japan (and expect me to do just that!) so let's get back to the ramen. This is a easy vegan variation of Shōyu (soy sauce) ramen. In order to add a little depth to this broth while keeping things on the quick & easy side, I fried sliced onion, garlic cloves, and mushrooms in a blend of sesame oil + vegan butter. I flavoured the fried vegetables with ginger, soy sauce and a touch of sriracha and then deglazed the saucepan with my favourite vegetable broth and left it simmer while I prepared the toppings. After straining the broth and bringing it back to a boil I added some thin-sliced Baby Boomers. Creamer potatoes are a little unexpected in traditional ramen but the starch helps to add a little body to the broth with minimal effort. Plus, the potatoes absorb that rich broth and taste A+ along with crispy pan-fried tofu, mushrooms, spinach, bean sprouts, carrot and green onion.

Japanese word count: 6 (onsen, inu, sandoitchi, tofu, shoyu, and ramen.) Stay tuned for more veganized, sometimes traditional-ish, Japanese recipes + the odd bit of Japanese vocabulary on I Love Vegan!

Easy Vegan Shōyu Ramen

★★★★★ 4.3 from 4 reviews

• Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 1 -2 1x
• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

Easy Vegan Shōyu Ramen. Crispy pan-fried tofu galore, rich shōyu vegetable broth, buttery slices of potato, and all the toppings (carrot ribbons, bean sprouts, thin-sliced mushrooms, spinach, and green onion.) Serves 1-2.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Shōyu Ramen Broth

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp canola oil
• ½ onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 cup mushrooms, slice thick
• 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sriracha
• pinch dried ginger
• 2 cups vegetable broth

Easy Vegan Ramen

• 1 package vegan ramen noodles
• ½ package extra-firm tofu, cut into ¼" thick squares
• ½ cup sliced Little Potatoes (Baby Boomers)
• ½ cup sliced mushrooms
• ½ cup baby spinach, julienned
• 1 carrot, in peelings
• 2 green onions, thin sliced
• ½ cup bean sprouts

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Instructions

1. Pan-fry extra-firm tofu in sesame or canola oil until crispy on both sides. Set aside.

Ramen Broth

1. In a medium saucepan, heat sesame + canola oil over medium heat. Add sliced onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are tender. Add ginger, soy sauce, and sriracha, cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute. Slowly add 2 cups vegetable broth. Simmer for 10 minutes, while you prep the ramen toppings.
2. Strain the broth and measure. Add water to correct volume to 600 ml, taste, and adjust with water to suit your preference. Bring broth back to a boil and add sliced potatoes. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add noodles (cooking according to package directions) at the appropriate time to ensure potatoes and noodles are cooked at the same time.

Ramen

1. Divide noodles and broth between 2 bowls. Top with crispy tofu, carrot ribbons, bean sprouts, thin-sliced mushrooms, spinach, and green onion. Serve with sesame seeds, soy sauce, and sriracha.

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Notes

I nabbed these vegan ramen noodles from a packaged ramen - 1 package works perfectly. Choose whichever noodles you think will work best. Rice noodles, udon, soba, or flour stick noodles are all suitable options.

This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. We love them for their commitment to simple, healthy whole foods like their delicious Creamer potatoes. Thanks for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan! Learn more about why we love Little Potatoes SO much at www.littlepotatoes.com