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It doesn’t have to be soup season to enjoy a good bowl of ramen

I love having ramen for lunch, so I make big batches of the broth in order to always have some in the freezer. One of the best things about being vegan is that you're incorporating a variety of greens into your diet. Throw as many kinds in as you'd like—it doesn’t just have to be baby bok choy. Try kale or spinach or if you have some cabbage on hand, toss that in too. And if you don't have tofu handy, you can load up on the mushrooms and other veg. (Also, see if you can make this without humming the Chixdiggit song "Miso Ramen".)

BROTH INGREDIENTS

  • 1 head of garlic, top cut off
  • 2 onions, sliced in quarters
  • 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, quartered
  • 2 or 3 green onions
  • A few mushrooms
  • Olive oil
  • 4 cups water or mushroom stock
  • 1 strip kombu
  • 2 tbsp miso paste
  • 2 tbsp Bragg or low sodium soy (tamari also works)

Miso ramen ingredientsChristine McAvoyRAMEN INGREDIENTS

  • Package of ramen noodles (make sure they're vegan)
  • Tofu (extra firm), 6 to 8 square slices per bowl
  • Sweet chilli sauce (or chilli oil)
  • Handful of mushrooms, whatever is in season, cleaned and sliced into bite-sized pieces
  • Greens (baby bok choy, spinach, kale, etc.)
  • Green onion, sliced
  • Any other vegetables you desire

BROTH INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 450.
  2. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, place onions, garlic, ginger, dried mushrooms and green onions, then drizzle lightly with olive oil.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn oven to bake for 3 or 4 more minutes. Remove from oven.
  4. In a large pot, place vegetables, kombu piece and four cups of water (or mushroom broth if you have on hand/frozen).
  5. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour (more if you have time, and especially if you're going to freeze some).
  6. When the broth has finished, scoop or drain out the vegetables, setting the garlic aside. Pour some of the broth into a blender and leave the rest in the stockpot.
  7. When the garlic is cool enough to hold, squeeze out as much as you can into the blender, then add the miso and Bragg, blending until smooth and creamy.
  8. Pour the mixture back into the remaining broth and stir to combine.
  9. Once cooled, the broth can be frozen at this stage.

RAMEN INSTRUCTIONS

  1. While the broth is cooking, brown the tofu. You can either fry the slices in a pan with oil, or you can bake for 20 minutes, after rubbing them with the sweet chili sauce. Set aside. (Chili sauce is optional, but adds even more flavour).
  2. When you're ready to eat, boil the ramen noodles in a pot according to the directions, and add the greens and vegetables in with the noodles at the end to cook them.
  3. Place the noodles in a bowl, the vegetables on top, then ladle on the broth. Top with chopped green onions.

Makes 2 bowls
Freeze broth if only making one bowl, and double if you are feeding more people.