How to Make Healthy Restaurant Quality Ramen

By: Michala Freeman

This is the perfect time of year for ramen, although what time of the year isn’t?!

But this IS the best time because we have fresh ingredients to use, and the Sunnyvale Farmer’s market supplies us with all the produce we need.

I love this recipe, which I found on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try. I was a little skeptical about a few ingredients such as the peanut butter and the soy milk, but these really round out the taste to give it that restaurant quality flavor. I also love ramen because you can personalize it to your preference and what you have on hand.

Want it to be vegan? Use vegetable broth.

Only have instant ramen noodles? Use those!

Want a less spicy ramen? Add only a teeny tiny amount of red pepper.

I added okra and used red onion because that’s what I had on hand. And you know what? It turned out great.

So, let’s get started.

First, gather all ingredients.

Recipe

Soup Base

1 Tbsp (14g) sesame oil

1 tsp (6g) minced ginger

3 cloves garlic minced

2 scallions minced (white and green parts separated) ((onions or shallots also work fine))

1 1/2 Tbsp (21 g) miso paste (white miso)

1 Tbsp (14g) plain peanut butter or Asian sesame paste

1/2 to 1 Tbsp (7-14 g) doubanjiang or other chili sauce/paste

2 cups broth (4.5 dL) (I’ll leave this open to you, I used Chicken bone broth)

1/2 cup (1 dL) soymilk, oat milk also does the trick

2 dried shiitake mushrooms (I used about 6 regular button mushrooms)

1 Tbsp (14g) Soy sauce or more to taste

Salt to taste

Noodles and Other Toppings

1 head bok choy

1 cup (2 dL) noodles of your choice (I used buckwheat soba noodles)

Sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup (1 dL) corn kernels

Scallions (Green part)

Sesame seeds

Roasted Nori

A soft boiled egg

Instructions

First thing you’re gonna want to do is have all ingredients measured, chopped, and ready to go.

Boil eggs to soft boiled, about 7 minutes. Cool eggs under running tap water.
Cook soba noodles. (If using instant ramen, skip this step) Boil about 4 quarts of water, add the noodles and cook for seven minutes to al dente. Then rinse under running water. Set aside in ramen bowls.
For soup base, heat a medium sized pot over medium high heat.

Add in the sesame oil. Once hot, add garlic, ginger, and white parts of the scallion (or onion). Sautee stirring constantly until translucent 1-2 minutes.
Lower the heat and add miso paste, nut butter and chili paste. Stir well.
Add broth and if using, soy milk.

Stir well, and add dried or regular mushrooms. Cover and heat over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Once it boils, lower the heat and leave to simmer.
Season with soy sauce and salt to your taste.
Add in veggies of your choice. When the veggies are almost done, if using instant ramen add the ramen brick at this point and once almost done, the heat can be turned off.