I tried my first real ramen in Japan last year and it was an experience – sitting around the bar overlooking the kitchen, in the traditional Japanese way. The vegan broth was filled with ramen noodles, tofu, spring onions, herbs and vegetables, and tasted amazing. I knew I had to try making my own ramen once I returned home.

After researching some recipes, I found this recipe from Rabbit and Wolves, which adds a nice twist to the classic ramen by adding coconut milk and peanut butter to the broth. When it comes to the toppings, I wanted to opt for veggies instead of tofu, so I made this deep fried broccoli to add to the broth. I also went with bamboo shoots, spring onions, parsley and black sesame as toppings, but feel free to replace them with other things if you want.

This is a recipe I adapted from Rabbit and Wolves.

Ingredients (about 4 servings):
For the ramen:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 – 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cm piece of ginger
• 1 tsp red curry paste
• 1 L vegetable broth
• 1 can coconut milk
• 120 g natural peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Ramen or glass noodles
• 1 can/glass of bamboo shoots
• spring onions & black sesame to garnish

For the broccoli:

• 1 head of broccoli
• panko bread crumbs
• 150 ml plant milk (or more if batter is too thick)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 60g all purpose flour
• 40g tapioka starch (or corn starch)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Sriracha
• oil for frying

 

Instructions:
Prepare the ramen stock:

1. Mix the peanut butter with 200ml of the prepared veggie broth, so it starts to dissolve.
2. Chop garlic and ginger. In a large pot, heat the garlic and ginger in olive oil on low – medium heat for a couple of minutes. Then, add the curry paste and stir for another minute. 
3. Add the peanut butter mixture with the remaining 800 ml of veggie broth and the coconut milk to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer. 
4. Then add the soy sauce and maple syrup. Simmer on low for 5-10 minutes to develop the flavors. Add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt if needed.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the fried broccoli (instructions below).
6. Right before serving, add the ramen noodles into the pot. Simmer them, cooking according to package directions. If you are not eating the full portion of ramen at once, I recommend to separate the amount of stock you are going to eat into a smaller pot, and add only as many portions of ramen noodles as you will eat right away. If you let the ramen noodles soak, they will become soggy, so it is better to add them right before eating.
7. Place a portion of the noodles with broth in a bowl and top it with the fried broccoli, bamboo shoots, and garnish. Enjoy!

Make the fried broccoli:

1. Add the apple cider vinegar to the plant milk in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes to make vegan buttermilk. 
2. In a big mixing bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
3. Add the plant milk mixture and hot sauce to the dry ingredients and mix well so that there are no clumps left.
4. Cut broccoli into florets, throw some of them into the batter and mix well until the florets are covered in batter.
5. Then sprinkle them with the panko bread crumbs (on or above an empty plate or bowl), so that they are evenly covered.
6. Heat oil on medium heat in a large pan. Add the broccoli to the hot oil and fry for a few minutes on each side, or until brown and crispy.