Vegan Tonkotsu Ramen
This vegan ramen recipe is a keeper. It combines a rich and complex plant-based tonkotsu broth, toothy noodles, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and taro root. You’ll want more than one bowl of this one.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 pot vegan tonkotsu ramen broth
- 600 g ramen noodles frozen
- 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms large, cleaned and stems removed
- 250 g enoki mushrooms cleaned and trimmed
- 250 g taro root peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 250 g corn kernels canned, drained
- 2 green onion chopped finely
- 100 g Japanese fermented bamboo shoots (menma) may be sold in jars
- roasted sesame seeds
- toasted sesame oil
Instructions
If baking the taro root:
- Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray a thin coat of oil onto the foil. Place taro root slices onto foil. Spray a thin coat of oil onto each piece of taro root. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Place another layer of foil tightly across the top of the baking sheet to create a seal.
- Place baking sheet into cold oven. Set to 425F.
- After 20 minutes, remove the foil and return the baking sheet to the oven to allow the taro root to bake uncovered.
- After 12-15 minutes (when the bottom side of the taro is browned) flip the taro slices. After 12-15 additional minutes, when both sides are browned, remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside.
While the taro root is baking, prepare the other ingredients.
- Cook noodles according to the instructions on the package. Taking care not to discard the boiling water, drain and rinse the noodles briefly with cold water to stop the cooking. The noodles should be pleasantly chewy.
- Use the same pot of boiling water to blanch the shiitake and enoki mushrooms, 2-3 minutes each, until cooked through.
- If boiling the taro root, place the taro root slices into the boiling water and boil for 5-6 minutes until cooked through. Watch closely and remove the slices if they begin to dissolve in the water.
Assemble each bowl of ramen as follows:
- Fill the bowl halfway with hot ramen broth.
- Add ¼ of the cooked noodles to the bowl.
- Top with a quarter of the mushrooms, roasted taro slices, tablespoons of corn kernels, green and onion.
- Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds and add a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.
- Serve and enjoy immediately.
Notes
Each bowl is 2 servings. A bowl of ramen is meant to be a meal in itself.
Use frozen (not dried) ramen noodles if available. You can use dried noodles but the texture will be quite different.
You can use other mushrooms than the shiitake and enoki recommended, but the texture and flavor may be lacking.
You can substitute sweet potato for the taro root.
The menma can be replaced with other marinated bamboo shoots. For example those marinated in chili oil from Japan, Taiwan, or southern China.