Put down that cup of instant noodles. Seriously. Why settle for mediocre when you have the real deal… from scratch? Fine, there is an extra 15-20 minutes (gasp) that will go to preparing the real deal, but in my books that is the definition of quick and easy. The extra (small) time investment is soo worth the result. Freshly made, quick and easy vegetarian ramen, get in my belly, now!
I always have a few packs of dry ramen noodles in my pantry for emergency lazy meals like this one. You know, sometimes you are just too tired to cook. I have been there and, in fact, I am there on a regular basis…. The answer is quick and easy vegetarian ramen.
And let’s set things straight. Lazy meals do not mean unhealthy meals. For some reason, ramen noodles seem to have racked up a bad reputation. I guess it’s largely due to the instant cup noodles kind. I mean, of course dinner out of a styrofoam cup is not going to be healthy. Leave the cup noodles to the college kids. Real ramen (not the 25 cent kind) is healthy and full of fresh ingredients, not dried carrots and peas that come to life when you add water… yikes. Put that stuff away and use real ingredients!
I eat this stuff as a whole meal as is because, even though it is vegetarian, it still contains lots of protein (especially with the egg). But sometimes I like to change it up and add other types of protein. So basically, this recipe should be called quick and easy choose your own protein ramen. It is the perfect base recipe for you to use and add whatever protein your heart desires! Think tofu, shredded rotisserie chicken, beef, prawns… yes the options are endless.
Now, excuse me while I go curl up my blanket and devour a bowl of this stuff. Nothing does it better on a cold day like today.
Watch us try ramen in Japan!
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Quick and Easy Vegetarian Ramen
Prep Time: 10 mins- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2 soups
Category: Main
Cuisine: Japanese
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Put down that cup of instant noodles and make fresh, quick and easy vegetarian ramen in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 teaspoons ginger, grated
- 4 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin or rice wine vinegar
- 4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
- 1/2 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 2 (3 oz) packs dried ramen noodles
- hot sauce, to taste (optional)
- 1/2 cup green onions/scallions, sliced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a couple minutes until soft and fragrant. Stir in the soy sauce and mirin and cook for another minute. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the eggs and cook for exactly 7 minutes for a slightly runny yoke or 8 minutes for a soft yolk. Remove eggs from the pot and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. After a few minutes, peel the shells off carefully and slice the eggs in half, lengthwise. Set aside.
- Bring another pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook for about a minute, until just wilted. Remove from pot and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
- Add ramen noodles to stock mixture and cook 2-3 minutes or according to package instructions. Add some hot sauce, to taste (optional).
- Divide the soup into 2 large bowls.
- Top with an egg, spinach, carrots and green onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and serve immediately.
I made this for dinner tonight and it is really delicious – thank you!
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You are so welcome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe. I make it all the time…it’s so quick & easy, and it tastes so good.
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Yay! So glad to hear! 😀
SUPER delicious!! Made it tonight (it’s cold & damp outside) & everyone LOVED IT. Very flavorful & the eggs were absolutely perfect! Thanks for this-it is definitely going in the rotation!
So glad you liked it!! 🙂
This is out of this world! You’re a genius!
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Haha, thanks!! 🙂
Any substitutes for mirin? We don’t really get it everywhere here in India! 😛
Also, how do you make your vegetable broth?
You can substitute mirin with dry white wine or rice vinegar mixed with some sugar. Basically, for every tablespoon of dry white wine or rice vinegar, you’ll need to add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. I also make my vegetable broth using a bullion cube and hot water.
Absolutely delicious!! Entire family LOVED it. Tons of flavor! Made 2 times this week already…picky husband request!
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Thank you! So glad you liked it 🙂
Mentioned/ used this recipe on my blog post… good stuff!
https://eat760729423.wordpress.com/
Delicious, rich broth, a bit salty for my taste so I switched to a reduced sodium soy sauce and added a smidge of Crystal hot sauce for some heat, new favorite dish.
I also removed the egg to make it Vegan and I have to say I never expected something so Low calorie to be so hearty and filling while somehow also managing to taste of pure flavor. Brilliant!
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I’m really tempted to make this for dinner but I was wondering if anyone could tell me approximately how many calories are in 1 serving of this and if the eggs in the picture were cooked for 7 or 8 minutes?
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I don’t see any instructions on the carrot part. Did you put them in raw?
Hi Leanne, yes the shredded carrots go in raw at the end 🙂
This looks so yummy! And way better than just plain old packaged ramen :). Thanks!
This looks so good! I’ve tried making ramen at home and failed. Not sure what I did wrong!
I’d love to try this recipe with veggie stock to keep it fully vegetarian. Do you use the noodles in the pack and just throw out the seasoning, or is there somewhere else to find them?
I bought a big pack of ramen noodles that contained 6 packed noodles and did not contain any seasoning. These noodles had a bit more structure. But you can certainly use the noodles in the pack and throw out the seasoning.
Saving this for later! I LOVE ramen and I dont have any places that have it by my house 🙁 This is perfect!
This recipe must be delicious. Thanks for sharing! I’ll be trying this tonight.
Hi, my name is Kim, and I’m a vegetarian that HATES eggs. LOL, but this ramen looks amazing so I will make an egg just to try it! I have been craving ramen, so I will have to give this a try!
Wow! Your Vegetarian Ramen looks delicious. I also pinned it to my healthy recipe board. Thanks for sharing!
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This looks DIVINE!!!
I keep buying the ingredients to make this and then get intimidated! TONIGHT! I can’t wait to try 🙂
Beautifully photographed and delicious bowl of goodness.
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What gorgeous photos. There is nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of noodles and veggies 🙂
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Oh totally making this! I love ramen but I can’t even imagine what homemade ramen must taste like!!
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This looks really yummy and easy. I’m going to pin it for a lazy day. 🙂
What a beautiful bowl of Ramen! To me this is a perfect dish and I don’t think I would be adding any more protein in it. Hang on, did you mention prawns? 🙂 🙂
Wow, this looks amazing! Adding it to next weeks meal plan! Thanks so much
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Um, YES! So obsessed with this recipe as Ramen is a personal favorite of mine. Can’t wait to try it out on my own!
XO, S
http://www.theunexpectedtype.com
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So much yumminess! I just made ramen the other day, first time in forever, and I rummaged through my produce drawer for some fresh veggies to add. It was one of the best things I had made on the fly in awhile.
This post gave me more delicious add ins!!
Thank you so so much. xo
I love this idea! What a great way to fancy-up some basic ramen!
Love this recipe, quick, easy and healthy. Perfect for veganuary.
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This is such a great idea. I always tell people that the noodles aren’t the unhealthy part it’s more of the packets. These always make for a super cheap and easy meal.
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Ramen is always so good and so much better when make fancy and at home!
Yumm! This is making my mouth water! Will have to try this out this week! Thanks for sharing Sam! 🙂
With Gratitude,
Em || The Gratitude Butterfly
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