I-Can’t-Believe-It’s- Vegetarian Ramen

I-Can’t-Believe-It’s- Vegetarian Ramen

By ANDY BARAGHANI
Total time 45 minutes
Serves 4

The goal with this vegetarian ramen recipe was to achieve a tonkotsu-like broth minus the meat. To get there, we built our vegetable stock from the ground up with charred scallions, deeply cooked tomato paste (which brings in tons of umami flavor and earthy sweetness), dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, and soy sauce. To make up for the missing fat, which gives ramen broth body and balance, we finished this version off by whisking in a few pats of butter.

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

8 India Tree Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1⁄4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. black and/or white sesame seeds

1 Tbsp. gochugaru (coarse Korean red
pepper powder) or 11⁄2 tsp. crushed
red pepper flakes

Kosher salt
4 scallions
1 2" piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 4x3" piece dried kombu
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

4 baby bok choy (about 12 oz. total),
quartered lengthwise
4 5-oz. packages fresh ramen noodles

Jammy eggs, toasted nori sheets, and/or
cilantro (for serving; optional)

Preparation

STEP 1

Heat garlic cloves and 1⁄4 cup oil in a large
saucepan over medium, stirring often,
until garlic is beginning to turn golden,
about 3 minutes. Stir in sesame seeds and
cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic

is golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute.
(Watch carefully as garlic can burn
quickly.) Transfer to a small bowl; stir in
gochugaru and season with salt. Set garlic
oil aside. Wipe out pan; reserve.

STEP 2

Trim dark green parts from scallions
and thinly slice; set aside for serving.
Coarsely chop white and pale green parts.
Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in reserved
pan over medium-high. Cook chopped
scallions and ginger, stirring often,

until scallions are charred in spots, about
4 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook,
stirring occasionally, until beginning to
stick to pot and darkened slightly,

about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and
kombu, then stir in 5 cups cold water.
Bring to a boil; remove from heat and let
sit until mushrooms soften, about

10 minutes. Remove kombu and discard.

STEP 3

Using a slotted spoon, transfer solids
to a blender. Add 1 or 2 ladlefuls of broth;
purée until smooth. Stir purée back
into broth in pan; bring to a simmer over
medium heat. Add butter, a piece at
a time, whisking to combine after each
addition. Stir in soy sauce; taste and
season with salt if desired. Reduce heat to
low and keep warm until ready to serve.

STEP 4

Cook bok choy in a large pot of boiling
water until bright green and tender, about
2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer
to a plate. Return water to a boil; cook
noodles according to package directions.
Drain and divide noodles among bowls.
Ladle warm broth over. Arrange bok choy
and reserved dark green scallions on top,
drizzle with reserved garlic oil, and top
with eggs, nori, and/or cilantro if desired.

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