Easy Vegan Miso Ramen

Our Easy Vegan Miso Ramen is a rich and creamy ramen made with miso and a shiitake broth that can be ready in 40 minutes.

Our love for ramen started many years ago while living in Berlin. We discovered this lovely Japanese-Korean restaurant (Sushi Ky) that served the best ramen we have ever tasted. So spicy and packed full of umami goodness, we were constantly craving ramen!

When we moved to Spain, we started making our own ramen at home. It was something we did on special occasions as it would take the whole evening plus messing the whole kitchen. Now, we've learnt that ramen can be made way easier, especially vegan ramen. It's all about finding the right balance of flavours.

This miso ramen is an easy vegan alternative made with simple ingredients. The taste is just amazing. Try it and you will be making it as often as we do! To prepare the base of our broth, we use shiitake mushrooms, miso, garlic and ginger to get that umami flavour that ramen needs. For the saltiness, we add soy sauce, brown sugar for the sweetness and soy milk for the creaminess.

Our ramen is a kid and toddler-friendly recipe. It's not spicy and our toddler Luca loves it as much as we do. As well, it can be made gluten-free using gluten-free miso paste and tamari. If you like this recipe, make sure to try as well our Vegan Pho.

Ingredients to make the perfect broth in 20 minutes

White miso paste. The key ingredient to our vegan ramen. Miso paste is packed with umami flavour and it's a fantastic ingredient for your gut health. You can get it online or in an Asian supermarket.

Shiitake mushrooms. We use shiitake mushrooms but dried shiitake can be used too. Simply leave them soaking in boiling hot water for about 15 minutes before using them.

Garlic, ginger and shallot. We prefer using shallots than onion as they tend to be sweeter.

Soy milk. Use soy milk or any other plant-based milk to add creaminess to the broth.

Soy sauce or tamari. For saltiness and umami.

Brown sugar or maple syrup. This last ingredient is totally optional but I love adding just a tiny bit of sweetener to my ramen broth.

Spring onions. To start our ramen broth, we cook at a high heat sliced spring onions in sesame oil. This creates such a unique flavour for the base of your ramen.

Stock. Check out our easy homemade vegetable stock or you can use a shop brought stock.

Method

I told you already this is an easy and quick ramen recipe so all you need to do is to add in a blender jug the miso paste, half of the shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, shallot, soy milk, soy sauce and brown sugar and blend all the ingredients together until you have a uniform paste.

Heat some sesame oil in a big saucepan or pot and add the sliced spring onion. Cook until they start to brown (almost burn) and add the blended paste and the rest of the mushrooms sliced. Lower the heat and leave simmering while stirring occasionally for about 8-10 minutes.

Add the stock; using a beater, make sure that the paste and stock are mixed well. Bring to simmer, leave cooking for 10 minutes, and turn off the heat.

Simple right? All you have to do now is to prepare your ramen noodles and toppings of your choice!

To serve your vegan miso ramen, add the cooked noodles to the bowl, then pour the hot ramen broth, add the toppings, and slurp up! You can also try our speedy 20-minute ramen for a creamier version.

Ramen Noodles

To prepare our easy and vegan miso ramen, we use instant ramen noodles as they cook fast. As well, for a miso broth, wavy noodles work better than straight.

Choose the type of noodles that you love for your ramen. We have tried many brands and types of ramen noodles and we still can't decide which ones are our favourite.

The best place to buy your ramen noodles is at an Asian supermarket. You can get fresh noodles or hight quality dried noodles.

Make sure you follow the package instructions. To get perfectly cooked noodles, place them in ice water for a couple of minutes to stop them from cooking. Place the noodles into the bowl but don't add the broth until right before serving the meal.

Protein options

You can choose different plant-based proteins to add to your ramen. As well, if you are a vegetarian or meat-eater you can add the famous egg to your ramen bowl.

• Tofu. We prepare our tofu separately heating a pan over medium heat and cooking the tofu cut into cubes until golden. You can cook it directly adding it into the broth or even baking it.
• Edamame. Another great source of protein, edamame beans. They bring colour to your ramen and taste just delicious. Cook for around 2-3 minutes in simmering water and drain in a colander. You can as well, serve the edamame on the side. Check out this Air Fryer Edamame recipe.
• Tempeh. Fermented soybeans, tempeh is a healthy option to add to your ramen. Cook it separately with some soy sauce for extra flavour.

Vegetarian option

• Egg. To prepare the perfect ramen egg, boil the egg for 6,5 minutes and plunge it into ice water. Leave it to sit for about 5 minutes before peeling off the shell.

Toppings

• Mushrooms: Use shiitake, enoki, beech mushrooms or any other type of Asian mushrooms of your choice. They will add more flavour to your ramen and work amazingly with it. We normally like to cook them separately, apart from the enoki which we cook inside the broth for a couple of minutes.
• Corn. To add a bit of crunch and sweetness to our topping selection we normally choose corn. Luca loves it so do we.
• Protein. Use tofu, edamame, tempeh or any other plant-based protein of your choice.
• Chilli sesame oil. This recipe is not spicy as we make it for the whole family, but Astra and I love our ramen spicy. Chilli sesame oil is our favourite topping!
• Sesame seeds. Toasted white and black sesame seeds add that last touch to your ramen bowl.
• Fresh veggies. Add colour to your bowl by adding shredded carrot, pak choi, tomato or spinach.
• Nori sheets. Dried seaweed, will make your bowl look like a restaurant one!
• Pickled Daikon Radish. Add a little crunch to your ramen by adding pickled veggies such as Japanese Daikon Radish.

I hope you enjoy this quick and yummy ramen, and if you want some more recipes, have a look at the best 10 Vegan Ramen Recipes.

More Japanese-style Recipes:

• Vegan Soba Noodle Salad
• Miso Aubergine
• Katsu Curry with Cauliflower
• Teriyaki Tofu
• Vegan Katsu Curry