Vegan Mushroom Miso Ramen

This umami rich shiitake mushroom broth is deepened with miso and toasted sesame. It’s everything satisfying and savory that we all want from an amazing bowl of soup. Grilled marinated tofu and shiitakes take things over the top with chewy noodles, and fresh baby bok choy!

I’ve been working on this recipe for a while. I was torn between two worlds in making it though: the one where the stock is made a full day ahead and is more labor intensive, and the one where everything is made quickly. In the end, I came up with something that falls somewhere in the middle. You won’t be spending hours over the stove, but some patience while the stock simmers to soften the dried shiitakes is absolutely worth it. It’s during that stage that the flavors from the mushrooms are released into the broth.

Ramen is it’s best when it has really strong umami flavors. As it happens, dried shiitakes are flavor bombs. The trick though is getting them to fully hydrate. For this recipe, they are simmered with some aromatics like garlic, onion and fresh ginger. Once they are fully softened, the broth is blended with a few other ingredients to create an almost creamy broth. A lot of recipes call for leaving the mushrooms whole, but I wasn’t in favor of this for two reasons:

1. I really don’t enjoy the texture of boiled mushrooms (hello rubber), and
2. by blending the mushrooms, we’re diffusing their amazing flavor throughout the broth. YUM. 

For the remaining bit of the recipe, we’re just putting some tofu into a really simple marinade. You can do this the night before, which is even better because then the tofu absorbs even more flavor! But if you’re short on time, letting it hang out for 30 minutes while the broth cooks is amazing, too. Once it’s ready, we sear it and some fresh shiitakes, and get the noodles cooked, tossing the bok choy in at the last second. Then it’s time eat!

Tips for Perfect Vegan Mushroom Miso Ramen:

• For a seamless, prep: Start the broth, get the tofu marinating, prep the fresh mushrooms, get the water for the noodles boiling, sear the tofu and then the mushrooms, add the bok choy to the noodles and then you’re ready to dish it up!
• If you want a super quick dinner, make the broth and marinate the tofu the day before. Start to grill the tofu and mushrooms 20 minutes before dinner. During this time, heat the broth and cook the noodles.
• I tested this first by marinating the mushrooms while the tofu cooked, but things got really smoky really fast once the saucy mushrooms hit the pan. We didn’t find the mushrooms tasted any different whether they were marinated a few minutes or not because they are tossed with marinade once they are cooked anyway. Same goes for the bok choy – it’s really nice grilled but I found it easier to just dunk in the pot of noodles a few minutes before the noodles were done.
• Toasted sesame oil is not the same as sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil is darker and has a much richer, nutty flavor. I find I rarely reach for regular sesame oil since trying the toasted!
• Fresh shiitakes will not give the broth the same result as dried shiitakes. Dried shiitakes provide a much stronger umami flavor.
• Store the ramen components separately for better leftovers. This is especially true for the noodles – they will absorb a lot of liquid and become a bit gluey in the fridge. Toss leftover noodles with a bit of oil to help prevent sticking.