This recipe is the cheat method to all ramen cooked at home. And it’s fricken vegan. Vegan. A ramen. Do you know how much money this saves? Do you know how long it takes to cook a tonkotsu ramen broth? 6 hours. Minimum. I feel like I just hacked my way into a secret of the culinary world that’s desperate to remain under lockdown and away from the prying eyes of the public. So what does it take? Konbu, dried shiitake mushrooms and soy milk. And under 30 minutes. It is amazingly good, I could cry. Lotus root has become my new favourite vegetable, so delightfully crunchy even after
being cooked! And considering the general consensus regarding tempeh, I was expecting to despise it.. but that’s before you flavour anything with teriyaki sauce I suppose.What happens when you can’t find burdock root? Substitute it for sweet potato, I’m a thinker. Someone applaud my dedication for almost burning off my eyebrows in order to use the barbecue (and cleaning it!!) just for very small components of this dish. Seriously though, this is the most sinless, yet decadent ramen you’ll ever taste! Every crave but loathe to carry your stomach around like a bowling ball? Look no further!
Jouichirou’s Special Rich Ramen Recipe
Buddhist Stock: 1 10x10cm konbu square, 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, 700ml water
Teriyaki Tempeh: tempeh, 1 tblsp sesame oil, 1 tblsp honey, 1 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tblsp sake, 1 tblsp mirin
Ramen Noodles, ½ tblsp yuzu juice, ½ tsp grated garlic and ginger, 2 tblsp miso, 500ml soy milk, 50g taro, salt, pepper, chili oil
lotus root, burdock root (or sweet potato), carrot, turnip, rock salt
Submerge 1 10x10cm konbu square, 4 dried shiitake mushrooms in 700ml cold water for 30 minutes. Bring to the boil, remove konbu square and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Strain.
Wash lotus roots carefully, including on the inside. Slice lotus root thinly, carrots into rectangles, cut turnips by slicing in half then into slices so that they resemble wedges. Peel thick shards of burdock root. Lotus and burdock roots brown quickly so let sit in a bowl of water with a bit of vinegar to prevent this.When ready to cook, pat dry with paper towels.
Deep fry lotus roots and burdock peel until golden.
Barbecue carrots and turnips. BARBECUING IS AMAZING. I’M BARBECUING ANYTHING I CAN GET MY HANDS ON. NEXT UP, PIZZA.
Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Season with rock salt.
Cut tempeh into 5cm squares, coat with potato starch. Heat up 1 tblsp sesame oil and cook tempeh to achieve a golden sear.
Add 1 tblsp sake, mirin, honey and soy sauce. Coat well with sauce. Set aside until ready to serve. Tempeh is magical and delicious and I can’t believe I said that without duress.
To make broth, sear garlic and ginger in 1 tblsp sesame oil. Add miso. Dissolve in 500ml soy milk and 300ml buddhist stock. Read note below regarding the miso
Grate in 50g of taro (I may have gone overboard with this.. don’t do that, it won’t turn out as pretty). Simmer for 5 mins. Season with salt. Edit: I’ve been looking to see how to improve its appearance and one method is to place the miso into a sieve and lower it into the stock to dissolve gradually. That way, the solids don’t linger on top of the surface and you have a clearer broth.
Boil noodles for 1-2 minutes, strain and mix with ½ tblsp yuzu juice. Add broth and carefully arrange the garnishes of tempeh teriyaki, barbequed carrots and turnips, deepfried lotus roots and burdock peel and chili oil.
Enjoy! And thank whatever deity is up there for such a blessing of a guiltless, delicious ramen.