10 Minute Shiitake Shoyu Ramen
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Shiitake Shoyu Ramen is a perfect quick lunch with whatever fresh ingredients you have at hand – pakchoi can easily be subbed for any greens, thinly sliced cabbage, frozen peas, green beans – anything brightly coloured which cooks fast and is rich in nutrients. And instead of ramen, any of King Soba’s rice noodles work perfectly too.
There’s lots of seaweed in this soup, the more the better! Anything ’soupy’ benefits from a good handful of savoury, umami-rich seaweed. Dulse is especially delicious – a deep purple, thin seaweed that found on the European Atlantic coast.
Ingredients
Soup:
- 1 portion ramen, I used King Soba’s black rice ramen but any King Soba noodles work just as well
- 600 ml water
- 1 dry shiitake mushroom
- 1 teaspoon drywakame seaweed, or dulse or kombu – or all three!
- 1 pinch garlic granules (or 1/2 garlic clove)
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut palm sugar (or any other natural sugar)
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
- 1 bunch pakchoi (or other veg, see above)
- 2 tablespoons shoyu or 1 tablespoon tamari
To serve:
- Toasted sesame oil
- Korean red pepper or any other chilli flakes
- Optional: Toasted sesame seeds, thinly sliced spring onion, a halved boiled egg***
- If using dulse seaweed, use a good big pinch
- If using kombu seaweed, use a stamp sized piece. When the soup is ready to serve, remove the kombu and slice in thin strips then return to the soup
- You can crack an egg straight into the soup at the same time as the greens, cover and simmer for a few minutes for a quick, messy ‘poached egg’
Method
1. Break the stem off the shiitake and discard. Add water, shiitake, seaweed and garlic to a pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. In the meanwhile, cook the noodles in a separate pot according to packet instructions. Drain, refresh in cold water and set aside.
3. After simmering for 5 minutes, remove the shiitake from the pot, slice as thin as possible and return to the soup.
4. Grate the ginger coarsely and hand-squeeze its juice straight into the pot. Discard the pulp.
5. Slice the pakchoi lengthways or in big chunks, add to the pot and simmer for another 2-3 minutes until it still has bite, and the shiitake is soft straight through.
6. Add shoyu or tamari just before removing the soup from the heat.
To serve, add noodles to a deep bowl and pour the hot soup over it. Drizzle a little sesame oil on top, and if desired, chili flakes, sesame seeds, spring onion and egg. Enjoy immediately.