Ramen Revisited - A Flexible Recipe for Healthier Results
A strategy to use the classic comfort of ramen noodles to make an inexpensive, vegetable-laden dish with much lower sodium. A key to this strategy is to toss the soup packet that comes with inexpensive packs of ramen noodles as its mostly sodium and chemicals. I prefer to buy Hime Ramen Noodles on their own as the flavor is better. You can get 16 bundles of noodles for about $12 from Amazon and for even less at an Asian market if there's one near you.
Ingredients
For the protein
- 1 lime or small lemon
- 4 oz. shrimp, tofu, sliced beef or chicken breast
- 1/8 tsp coarse salt
- Several cranks of fresh pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
For the broth
- 1 package ramen noodles
- 1 tablespoon miso paste or 1 packet instant miso soup
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- Two or three green onions chopped (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, cilantro, kale or spinach
Optional garnishes
- 1 egg
- 1/2 can bamboo shoots or 1/4 cup fresh sprouts optional
- 1/2 to 1 cup cooked vegetables
- Hot chili sauce such as siracha
- Sesame oil
Instructions
- Cut the lime or lemon in half. Juice one half into a bowl large enough to hold your shrimp, tofu, beef or chicken. Cut the other into small pieces and set aside. Toss with the salt, pepper and about half the oil and let rest for a few minutes. Add the rest of the oil to a small saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat and saute the shrimp or chicken until cooked through.
- Bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add the noodles and cook as directed by the package. If using a raw egg, carefully crack it into a corner of the pan and poach it in the water as noodles cook. Remove from heat and add the miso paste or soup mix plus the soy sauce and let steep for a couple of minutes.
- Portion the soup into two bowls. Add the green onions and herbs, plus any vegetables, bamboo shoots and stir through. Top with the egg and shrimp, tofu and the reserved lemon or lime pieces. Add Sriracha, soy sauce and/or sesame oil to taste if that’s your thing.