Vegan Ramen Recipe: How to Make Vegan Ramen from Scratch
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Feb 15, 2022 • 4 min read
Vegan ramen is a spin on the Japanese noodle soup dish. While ramen is often made with animal products, you can make an easy vegan ramen recipe with a few simple swaps.
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What Is Vegan Ramen?
Ramen is a Japanese dish and popular comfort food, primarily made of noodles and broth. You should not confuse ramen with soba, udon, or rice noodles. Ramen noodles use wheat flour, salt, oil, and kansui (alkaline water), but some versions swap kansui for eggs, making those noodles non-vegan. These noodles come in various shapes and lengths; which you use is up to personal preference.
Ramen is typically not a vegan dish, as it includes chicken or pork stock, and sometimes eggs. Ensure that your plant-based version remains an easy and flavorful vegan dish by checking the ingredients package of your ramen. Then swap meat-based stock for a vegan broth using vegetable stock, which will still result in an umami mouthfeel. While this is a vegan recipe lower in carbohydrates, it is not gluten-free. For gluten-free noodles, try to find ramen noodles made with an alternate flour, like chickpea flour.
You can find many of the ingredients in your local grocery store or at a Japanese market.
A Brief History of Ramen Noodle Soup
Ramen has a long history with unclear origins. Some stories place the creation of ramen in the 1660s, while others say Chinese immigrants introduced Japan to ramen in the late nineteenth century, with the first ramen shop opening in Yokohama in 1910.
- Wheat imports: During the US military occupation in Japan following World War II, the Asian country faced a massive food shortage of rice and other goods due to the massive amounts of destruction. The US brought in wheat flour to assist, leading to a rise in ramen cooking, as wheat flour is a key ingredient in the noodles.
- Ramen moves underground: The US soldiers continued a wartime ban on outdoor food vendoring to enforce rationing, but food distribution was up to 20 days behind schedule. To survive, black market food vendors sprang up, with wheat flour foods (and therefore ramen) as their primary resource. Thousands of ramen vendors ended up arrested.
- The rise of ramen: In the 1950s, food vending restrictions became more lax and private companies began renting yatai starter kits of noodles, toppings, bowls, and chopsticks. The US also promoted the health benefits of eating meat and wheat. The combination of these elements led to a rise in ramen and its association with Japanese urban life.
- Invention of instant noodles: In 1958, Nissin Foods founder Momofuku Ando invented instant noodles, allowing anyone to make ramen by adding boiling water. By the 1970s, instant noodles made their way around the world.
- Success: In the 1980s, ramen became known around the world as an icon of Japanese culture, with a ramen museum opening later in Yokohama in 1994.
Vegan Ramen Recipe
makes
prep time
25 mintotal time
1 hr 45 mincook time
1 hr 20 minIngredients
- 1
To roast the cauliflower, sweet potato, and zucchini, heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, toss the veggies in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and roast them for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven when they’re tender and slightly browned.
- 2
In a medium to large soup pot, sauté the onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat, until translucent, approximately 3 minutes.
- 3
Lower the heat to medium and add smashed garlic cloves. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the onions are deeply golden brown, about 5 minutes. If the garlic is getting too browned, take it out and add it back in once the onions are golden brown.
- 4
Add the veggie broth, water, chopped dried shiitakes, a sheet of kombu (rinsed), and mirin. Bring to a simmer. You can use nori (seaweed) instead of kombu (kelp).
- 5
Simmer uncovered on medium heat for 25–30 minutes.
- 6
Remove the kombu and add the miso paste. Add 1 teaspoon of salt (you can also use soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos). Keep warm on low heat.
- 7
Prepare the crispy tofu. Place the extra firm tofu on a kitchen towel, bringing up the sides, and press gently to remove the excess liquid. You can press it by hand, or you can place a baking sheet and a heavy skillet on top of the tofu to press out the water while you continue to the next step. This should take about 15 minutes.
- 8
While the broth simmers, cook the ramen noodles in a large pot of boiling water. Follow the directions on the package.
- 9
While the noodles are cooking, sauté the bok choy, over medium heat, in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Sauté until most of the natural liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes.
- 10
Drain the noodles and toss them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Set aside.
- 11
Pat the tofu dry and cut it into cubes. In a small bowl, toss the tofu cubes with the garlic powder, soy sauce, paprika, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and cornstarch. Toss gently to coat each cube.
- 12
Place a pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Carefully place the tofu in the oil and sauté until each side is golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. If the tofu sticks, it’s not ready to flip yet. Set aside on a paper towel until ready to use.
- 13
Fill the ramen bowls with the noodles, roasted veggies, and bok choy. Pour the ramen broth over the top.
- 14
Garnish with pan fried tofu, shredded carrots, pickled daikon radish, scallions, sesame seeds, kimchi, cilantro, and mushrooms.
- 15
Drizzle chili oil, sriracha, or tahini over the entire bowl for added flavor and spice.
- 16
Serve ramen soup hot.
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