This vegan shoyu ramen is what you need for a cold day! It has a silky homemade broth and flavorful tare. The best thing about this recipe is that you can prepare these two ingredients ahead of time. Simply add tare and broth in a bowl and add the cooked ramen along with your favorite toppings for a slurpilicious bowl of deliciousness.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 15 mins

Total Time1 hr 35 mins

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

Keyword: Ramen, Shoyu

Servings: 3

Ingredients

  • 4 oz of firm tofu pressed
  • 3-4 servings of ramen noodles used fresh ramen
  • Menma seasoned bamboo shoots
  • A handful of chopped scallions
  • cooking oil

Broth

  • 4 slices of ginger
  • 10 dried Shiitake mushrooms cleaned
  • 1 cup raw cashew – washed
  • 3 leeks chopped
  • 1.5 lbs daikon radish – chopped in bite-size cubes
  • 2 small garlic bulbs cut in half
  • 1 oz kombu
  • 20 cups of water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon mushrooms seasoning

Tare

  • 1 cup of light soy sauce
  • ½ cup of dark soy sauce
  • ⅓ cup sake
  • ⅓ cup mirin
  • 2-3 stalks scallion white part only
  • 2-3 garlic cloves mashed
  • 3 slices of ginger

Instructions

Prepare the Broth

  • Sauté ginger and mushrooms with a tablespoon of oil in a large stockpot until aromatic. Then, continue to stir-fry cashews, leek, and daikon radish for a few minutes. Add the water, turn the heat to high. Immerse the garlic bulb and kombu in the water, then add the salt.
  • Cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes. Remove kombu right after it comes to a boil for a less murky broth. Season with mushrooms seasoning.

Prepare the Tare and Tofu

  • Place all tare ingredients in a small saucepan, then bring it to a rolling boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 10 -15 minutes, uncovered until it reduces to almost half. Set it aside, I prefer to let the aromatics steep in the tare for as long as I could to extract the maximum flavor. If not used immediately, store it in a jar once it’s cooled down for future use (but strain out the aromatics).
  • To prepare the tofu, cut it into 4 blocks and place them on a shallow plate. Ladle a scoop (about 2 tablespoons) of tare over and marinate for at least 15 minutes (turning occasionally so all tofu sides are well-coated).
  • Next, heat a non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil. Pan-fry the tofu until golden brown over medium-low heat, until a thin crust forms, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Let it cool completely before slicing it.

How to serve

  • Now, strain the broth into another pot and pick out the mushrooms and kelp (if not removed earlier) and reserve for another dish. Keep the broth warm over low heat.
  • Bring a pot of water to boil, then blanch mung bean sprouts for a few seconds. Use the same pot to cook the ramen noodles as directed on the package.
  • To serve, add 2 tablespoons (adjust this based on your taste) of tare in a bowl, and ladle the broth over. Add the noodles, and top with mung bean sprouts, menma, chopped scallions and tofu cha shu. Serve warm.

Notes

  • Use jicama to substitute daikon radish if preferred
  • Remove kelp from the broth right after it comes to a boil to get a clearer soup
  • Feel free to use regular soy sauce and skip light and dark soy sauce. Please adjust the saltiness accordingly. 
  • Tare and broth can be made ahead of time and store for future use. Please store once they are cooled. 
  • Replace sake with vegetable broth or water if you can’t have alcohol. 
  • I’m using fresh ramen which takes less than 3 minutes to cook.