How to Make Your Own Miso Ramen

Before university, I imagined that I would be maintaining a healthy diet and eating exquisite meals. After realising that student diet consisted of pizzas, chips, chinese take-aways and instant ramen (at least in my case), I had to come to terms with the freshers-15.

After spending too much money on nights out and post-club food, instant ramen became a staple and my best friend. During Freshers, I could blame my disgusting diet on the fact that I lived in student halls with no kitchen to cook a proper meal. Now that I live in a flat with a fully equipped kitchen I have no excuse but to cook a more balanced meal.

Miso Ramen is a favourite of mine, however, good ramen tends to be pricy at restaurants. That is why using my experiences, I improvised on this miso ramen recipe.

With ramen, I quite like the salty and heat flavour. The mild-salty miso broth is accentuated with the kick from the chili oil. I would make the broth spicier, unfortunately, I can’t handle heat well. I tend to stick to vegetable broths, as I think it is a lot simpler and less oily, which is the way I like my broth.

Also I have vegan friends, and this recipe happened to be vegan-friendly. Toppings are a crucial part and vegetable dumplings are my favourite but you are free to add whichever you like.

It is really important to know that recipes are guidelines, NOT rules. If you want to add more vegetables, do. If you wish to add more toppings such as an egg or chicken, do. If you want to make it spicier, do. It is entirely up to you. I learned that the more you play around with existing recipes, the more confidence you gain, and slowly you begin to develop your own.

Miso Ramen

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 10 minutesCook time: 30 minutesTotal time: 35 minutesServings:1 servings

Ingredients

• 2 medium-sized onions
• 2 medium-sized carrots
• 70 shiitake mushrooms
• 70 bok choy
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 chilies
• 600 water
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• 1 ramen noodle package
• 70 vegetable dumplings
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 2 tablespoon sesame seed oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt

Instructions

1. 
   

   Cut the onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, 2 garlic cloves, 1 chili.

2. 
   

   Boil the water in a pot, and add the carrots, garlic, chili and half of the onions, shiitake mushrooms and bok choy. Cook on high heat for 20 minutes.

3. Grate the garlic and ginger, and add the sesame seed oil, soy sauce, chili powder and salt in a bowl. Cut the chilli into small pieces and mix into bowl.

4. Cook the vegetable dumplings in a separate pot of water (follow instructions on package).

5. Remove all the vegetables from the broth, and stir in the miso paste on medium-heat.

6. Cook the ramen noodles in the miso broth, and add the rest of the onions, mushrooms and bok choy. Once the noodles are cooked, add the dumplings.

7. 
   

   Serve the ramen in a bowl, topped with the chili oil.

• Asian
• Dinner
• Vegetarian