Vegetarian Shoyu Ramen

Hello everybody!

Today I thought I would share with you a delicious and warming Japanese ramen that everyone can enjoy! I’ve been making and perfecting this recipe for months now and I think I’m finally happy with the result. My favorite ramen used to be tonkotsu and shoyu because I loved the deep flavor of the dish and I always wanted to find a similar vegan/vegetarian ramen that would give me the same satisfaction. I did find a restaurant in Toronto which makes a vegan/vegetarian shoyu ramen, but I also wanted to be able to make it at home. I tried several recipes that I found online, but I couldn’t find one that I liked 100% so I decided to modify certain things until I got the result I wanted and here it is! The broth is actually vegan so if you want fully vegan ramen, you just have to skip the soft boiled egg on top and choose vegan ramen noodles instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The base of my broth is made of shiitake and porcini mushrooms because they have a deep flavor and a lot of umami. For added flavor, I also thought it would be good to add some white miso, sake and sesame sauce. All of these ingredients contributed to create the deep and rich flavor I was looking for. Even though the process to making the perfect ramen was complicated, this shoyu ramen is actually quite easy to make, but you will need some unusual ingredients such as shiitake powder and porcini powder. Both can be found online but since I have a coffee grinder at home I also buy them dry and turn them into powder myself. For the sesame sauce, it is a toasted sesame butter but slightly more liquid (if you eat Chinese hot pot, you will know what I’m talking about!) and I found mine at a Chinese grocery store. This recipe is absolutely worth it believe me!

Let’s start cooking!

Ingredients (for 2 persons):

For the paste:

• 1 tbsp shiitake powder
• 2 tsp porcini powder
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp sake
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame sauce
• 1 tsp white miso

For the broth:

• 1 to 2 tbsp of oil (you can use any)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 green onions
• 1 thumb of ginger
• Paste (see ingredients above)
• 1/3 cup sake
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 cups shiitake broth
• 1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk

Marinated Soft Boiled Eggs:

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup of water

Toppings:

• 2 eggs (optional)
• 2 packages of ramen noodles
• 100 g button mushrooms
• 4 dry shiitake mushrooms
• Cooked bean sprouts
• Sliced green onions
• Couple drops of sesame oil
• Some toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:

The Night Before:

Soak 4 dry shiitakes in hot water and cover with surround wrap. If you’re planning on adding eggs to your ramen, you will need to marinate them during the night. Boil water in a pot. Once the water is boiling, add your eggs and cook for 6 min. Strain the water and place your eggs in a bowl with cold water and ice right away to stop the cooking. Remove the shells carefully. In a ziplog bag, add the eggs, soy sauce, sake and water. Close the bag, place it inside a bowl and leave it in the fridge overnight.

Make the Paste:

In a saucepan, add 1 tbsp of shiitake powder, 2 tsp of porcini powder and 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast. Cover with the soy sauce and sake and mix well. Heat the saucepan on medium heat and wait until the mixture reduces and thickens. Stir regularly so the mixture doesn’t burn. Once it is much thicker, place in a little container. Add in the sesame sauce and the miso and mix well until homogeneous.

 

Make the broth:

1- Crush and slice the garlic cloves thinly. Remove the stem of the green onions and cut them in 3. Remove the skin of the ginger and cut it thinly. In a large pot, heat up about a tablespoon or 2 of oil. I personally used olive oil, but you can use the oil of your choice. Add in the garlic, green onions and ginger and cook on medium heat for about 5 min.

2- In the mean time, squeeze the excess water out of the soaked shiitake and place them on the side. Filter the shiitake’s soaking water with a coffee filter and place the liquid in a measuring cup. Since you will need 4 cups of liquid in total, add water until you reach 4 cups of liquid. I got a total of 1 + 1/2 cup of shiitake broth and added water to reach the 4 cups.

3- After cooking the garlic, green onions and ginger for about 5 minutes, deglaze the pot with a 1/3 cup of sake and let it boil and reduce a bit. Add in the shiitake’s soaking water and let it warm up. Once the liquid is hot, place the paste you made in a strainer, immerge it a little bit in the pot and mix the paste slowly, with the water inside of the strainer, with a whisk. Add in the soy sauce, cover and cook on medium heat for about 20 min.

4- After 20 min, strain the broth into a large bowl. Place the strained liquid back in the pot and add the soy milk. Cover with the lid and keep the broth warm.

5- Slice the soaked shiitakes and button mushrooms and sauté them in a frying pan until nicely colored. Slice thinly some green onions and cook the ramen noodles as indicated on the package.

6- Place the ramen noodles in a bowl, cover with the broth and add your toppings on top. I added some pan fried shiitake and button mushrooms, boiled bean sprouts, green onions, a marinated egg and some nori. I also like to sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top and drizzle a little bit of sesame oil. You can off course add the toppings of your choice. And then enjoy your ramen!

It definitely takes a little bit of preparation and time to make, but it is so worth it! This ramen is very flavorful and rich just like in a restaurant!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you will enjoy this recipe! Let me know in the comment section what you think about this recipe and if you liked it.

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