Vegetable Shiokoji Ramen 野菜塩麹ラーメン

 日本語のレシピは　ビーガン、ベジタリアン情報満載の　Hachidory から　ご覧下さい。

 The plum blossoms are fully blooming now !

Our town has many plum trees (and also yuzu trees).

Therefore whenever I go out for a walk, I can always meet them somewhere. 

 

 Aren’t they pretty?

They look more graceful and reserved compared with cherry blossoms to me. 

They will grow into the green plums by June, when I become very busy to do ume-work such as umeboshi/salty preserved plums, umesh / liquor and juice making. 

Judging from the abundant flowers, I am now anticipating that we’ll have a good harvest of green plums this year.

The plum flowers are telling us that the spring has come.

Yes, I can feel the spring in the air during the daytime on sunny days, which makes me so delightful.

The red plum blossoms do not bear fruit.

However it is still so cold in the morning and night !

I have to wait until March to meet the real spring.

The piping hot soup is still necessary for me.

So I am sharing the noodle in the hot soup today.

Maybe I should say “Ramen” rather than describing it in that way, as everyone nowadays know what Ramen is.

But I want to tell you this, it seems that many people think it is a Japanese cuisine, but it is not. 

Some might argue about it, but at least it was not. 

So it is absolutely not the traditional Japanese cuisine. 

It is the modern fusion food that successfully entered into the global food business.

Anyway let me introduce my ramen now.

Unlike the ramen you may have eaten before, it is very light and gentle to your stomach, as it is made from the oil-free and vegetable-rich soup, and gluten free noodles. 

And of course, it is vegan.

What is good about this ramen is not only them.

I am using the cores of the cabbage and also the hard parts of the stalk of the broccoli to make soup stock.

It is such a waste to discard those parts.

Those are the prime parts that the starch and the sugar are stored in addition to other nutrition.

I make soup stock in various ways, but the soup from the vegetables is my most favorite one.

Especially the combination of today’s vegetables is excellent.

I like to use it as a foundation of my miso soup, sometimes cook the rice with it instead of the plain water.

 

Shiokoji Vegetable Ramen 塩麹野菜ラーメン

 

Ingredients (for 2 bowls)

1 Broccoli

1/2 Cabbage

1L Water

1/2 ~ 1tsp Salt

2Tbsp Shiokoji - You can purchase from the supermarket or make it by yourself which is healthier and cost effective * 

2pkt Ramen noodles of your choice

　　　

These are the gluten-free ramen that I purchased from Kobayashi Seimen小林製麺

The first one looks like the normal ramen noodles but contains the additives , the latter one looks more like thin udon noodles rather than ramen, but no additives added.   I tried both, but the first one caused discomfort after eating it, so I recommend the latter one if you are sensitive to the ingredients.   

1 Carrot →　slice julienne and rub 1/2 tsp salt

2Tbsp nut or seeds of your choice

I used the hemp seeds this time. (Behind the seeds is shiokoji)

Do not forget to mash the seeds before eating for better digestion.

 

Additional ingredients

If you find that the taste is too bland for you, and want the stronger flavor or fat, add whatever you want before eating, such as chili paste, grated garlic, herbs and oil of your choice.

 

Procedure

1.   Cut off the florets of the broccoli from the stalk.  

Slice the cabbage leaves thinly. 

Chop the stalk of the broccoli and the core of the cabbage.

I added Komatsuna leaves too as it also releases nice umami flavor when it is cooked. (I did not use the Komatsuna leaves for this ramen but ate it by mixing it with the sesame seeds later.) 

2.   In a big pot, add the water and bring it to a boil, add the broccoli florets first and blanch or cook to your preference, take them out, then add the sliced cabbage and blanch.  Scoop them out with the slotted spoon.  

3.   Add the chopped stalk and cores in the pot, and simmer for 20~30min over low heat.  Skim off the foam from the surface if it appears during simmering.

4.   Drain with the colander and the bowl, and transfer the soup to the pot.  Add salt and shiokoji, taste and adjust to your preference.

Drained vegetables do not have umami flavor in them anymore but I still enjoy them by mixing them with the tofu mayo or make it into piping hot gratin with the mushrooms, tofu cream and vegan cheese.

6.   Discard the hot water of the bowl, transfer the cooked noodles to the bowl, pour the soup over it, top up with the vegetables prepared earlier like the photo.

7.   Sprinkle the mashed nuts or seeds on top.

8.   Enjoy piping hot soup and noodles before it gets cold.

Notes

1.   Do not omit the shiokoji for the soup as it plays the important role to make this soup flavorful.  I recommend making it by yourself if Komekoji is available.  Shiokoji creates the depth to the dishes so I often ues it in my cooking instead of salt.

I make it creamy like this using the blender when shiokoji is done.

 

Here are the links of other ramen that I introduced before.

Try them too. 
Hope you’ll find your favorite one out of these three.

Tomato flavor with soup stock made from the three kinds of dried vegetables 

(I also wrote about my thought to the animals, I would be happy if you could spend your time reading that part too.)

 

Easy and a bit fatty type using the instant concentrated stock and sesame paste   

Happy cooking!

 

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