Despite sunny weather being more of a permanent fixture in these parts lately, the evenings remain cold. I insist on sitting out on my deckchair (which still doubles up as my sofa in the evenings – tough times 😉 ) in the sun whenever I am able to, even past when it’s reasonable to do so. Once the sun hides behind the buildings, I bring my blanket and a hot cup of herbal tea to maximise time spent outside, with a book.
This is what living in the UK does to you – you start getting really territorial about every last ray of sunshine as you never know what the ever changing weather patterns will bring you tomorrow 😉 . Sitting out in my, slightly unkempt right now (I blame not being fully well yet for a lack of weeding motivation) garden, listening to the birds laughing at my cat from up high and watching her crazy cat antics is one of the happiest moments for me, right now. The other being going for walks with Duncan. We went for a long walk on Sunday for the first time in ages and it was surreal how vibrant and green everything seemed. I kept on staring at trees and plants like I never have before, as if I’ve suddenly been released from prison. The prison of my own house so not too bad, but still. We both enjoyed that walk so much that we followed with a shorter one yesterday as soon as Duncan finished working yesterday. We are lucky (well, it’s not coincidental, we planned it) to live by a lovely park and a big green area on our doorstep despite not living too far away from the city centre and we really appreciate our decision (just a year ago!) to move to this area of Bristol, especially so now. So I don’t know about you, but I am still in the mood for warming and comforting foods right now and a bowl of hot vegan ramen makes for a perfect dinner after you’ve been out in your garden, walking or exercising. It’s a perfect dish for this winter-spring transition – not too heavy, yet it sticks to your bones, as they say (what a great saying, BTW!) Now, a word of warning – if you are looking for a quick recipe, this is not it but it is worth the time spent, I promise! Ramen is not difficult to make but it does require love to coax the maximum flavour out of each and every ingredient and in the cooking world, love equals time. Actually, that’s not just in cooking, spending time with someone is the best way to make them feel loved too (my cat is like, ‘doh, hooman! is that your golden thought for the day?! Really? Is this the best you’ve got?’) So like I say, it’s not a difficult recipe, but it does take time. Toppings-wise, the world is your oyster (speaking of which, charred oyster mushrooms make a delicious ramen topping) so use whatever you have on hand. I have included suggestions below but as ramen is mostly about the broth and in the interest of keeping the recipe manageable, that’s what I focused on. As for the toppings, let your creatively run wild. Make the soup your own. Enjoy!
15 ml / 1 tbsp vegetable oil 5 cm / 2″ piece of ginger, peeled and sliced 4 garlic cloves, skin on, crushed and cut across + 1 clove peeled and finely grated 4 spring onions / scallions, white + light green parts only, cut into 2.5 cm / 1″ chunks coarse sea salt 10 dried shiitake mushrooms, cleaned** 20 g / 0.7 oz kombu** 240 ml / 1 cup soy milk (or almond milk)
FLAVOURINGS
45 ml / 3 tbsp Asian sesame paste, tahini or peanut butter 20 ml / 4 tsp tamari (if GF) or soy sauce 20 ml / 4 tsp shiro / white miso paste (GF if required) 60 ml / ¼ cup rice wine vinegar 20 ml / 4 tsp mirin 20 ml / 4 tsp chilli oil or toasted sesame oil
TOPPING SUGGESTIONS
noodles (GF if required), 150 g / 5 oz precooked noodles, per bowl steamed pak choi or broccoli tinned corn or bamboo shoots thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms from the broth 100 g / 3½ oz your favourite tofu or temepeh, per bowl green parts of spring onions / scallions, thinly sliced sesame seeds, to garnish
My recipe has been inspired by this genius vegan ramen recipe.
