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After my bout with Covid back in early October and after not eating for 3 days, I got my appetite back and was craving some broth or noodle soup. All I had in the back of my cupboard were some instant ramen packages and I decided that I could make do and create a spruced-up ramen bowl with an egg and some leftover veggies in the fridge.
I didn’t realize how quick, easy, and satisfying a bowl of ramen can be and when it comes to ramen, there really is no limit to the imagination. You can add pretty much anything you like to your bowl. The addition of coconut milk and harissa sauce makes the broth really rich and flavorful.
I can definitely see this dish making a repeated appearance in all kinds of variations in the next few months. I am now on the hunt for packages of just ramen noodles (not the instant packages), which means I should probably pay a visit to the International/Asian Market again soon.
Here’s how I made the ramen.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
4 oz of mushrooms
1 cube of garlic
1.5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 package (3 oz) of ramen noodles
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 tsp harissa sauce (hot chili pepper paste)
2 green onions
1 egg (optional)
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil and add the garlic and sauté over medium heat. Slice the mushrooms and add them to the pot and sauté until soft.
- Now add the vegetable broth and bring it up to a boil again. Add the ramen noodles (discard seasoning) and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Turn it down to a simmer. (Optionally, crack an egg into the simmering broth for extra protein.)
- Add the coconut milk and spinach and simmer until wilted.
- Turn the stove off and stir in the harissa sauce.
- Serve hot and garnish with green onions.
Nutrition
Yields: 2 servings Calories: 263 Sugar: 4.2 g Sodium: 540.6 mg Fat: 29.3 g Saturated Fat: 25.5 g Carbohydrates: 36.8 g Fiber: 3.6 g Protein: 14.2 g Cholesterol: 0 mg (calculated with MyFitnessPal)
“Spruced up” Ramen Bowl
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 oz crimini mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 oz ramen noodles (one package)
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 tsp Harissa sauce (hot chili pepper sauce)
- 2 green onions
- 1 egg (optional)
Heat up the olive oil and add the garlic and sauté over medium heat.
Slice the mushrooms and add them to the pot and sauté until soft.
Now add the vegetable broth and bring it up to a boil again. Add the ramen noodles (discard seasoning) and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Turn it down to a simmer. (Optionally, crack an egg into the simmering broth for extra protein.)
Add the coconut milk and spinach and simmer until wilted.
Turn the stove off and stir in the harissa sauce.
Serve hot and garnish with green onions.
Yields: 2 servings Calories: 263 Sugar: 4.2 g Sodium: 540.6 mg Fat: 29.3 g Saturated Fat: 25.5 g Carbohydrates: 36.8 g Fiber: 3.6 g Protein: 14.2 g Cholesterol: 0 mg (calculated with MyFitnessPal)
Elisabeth
November 13, 2022 at 6:32 amYum. I really like ramen – definitely a comfort food. We don’t eat it very often (and I do use the spice packet, which I know is not the epitome of fine ingredients)…but when we do, it takes me back to university when I used to make it in the electric kettle in my lab. It was such a staple back then and sometimes 2-3 of us would take turns making Mr. Noodles on the lab bench (hmmm…maybe not such a great idea in retrospect) in a blue electric kettle.
If we do make it at home, it’s typically for an at-home date night and we add all sorts of things – peanuts, veggies, my husband often likes to add a bit of nut butter.
My husband also seems to wind up eating it a lot – in a far more sophisticated restaurant manner than what we do at home – when he travels. It was huge in Australia (at least among his colleagues there), and he has it a lot when working in Asia too.
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
November 13, 2022 at 6:36 amRamen rocks! I’m currently obsessed with a brand called Shin ramen that I found at the Asian market last weekend. It’s so good that I can’t imagine tinkering with it. But once I’ve worked through that obsession and/or I run out of it, I’ll be back to doctoring up regular ramen.
Grateful Kae
November 13, 2022 at 7:40 amLooks super yummy!! I’ve always wanted to try making “real” ramen sometime, but never have. My boys LOVE the instant ramens and we almost always have them in the house. I’ll have to try a spruced up ramen dish this winter!
Suzanne
November 13, 2022 at 9:17 amThis sounds DELICIOUS! I am bookmarking it now.
NGS
November 13, 2022 at 9:35 amI am drooling over this. We don’t really eat pasta in our house, but surely I can find some sort of GF substitution for ramen noodles, right? It looks lovely and I hope you enjoy every bite!
Jenny
November 13, 2022 at 12:39 pmThis sounds delicious. My college son loves ramen, but he’s also interested in eating healthy. Maybe I’ll make this when he’s home and see how he likes it- it would be something he could make pretty easily at school. Thanks for the recipe!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
November 13, 2022 at 12:53 pmI love a good ramen soup. During covid we stocked up on some instant packages too and I wasn’t too convinced eating them. But your idea to spruce it up is so simple and genius. I think I am going. to. try that. I also have some ramen here without any spices so I can get creative.
J
November 13, 2022 at 1:38 pmI enjoy ramen, and my husband really likes it, but he’s low carb and low salt for health reasons, so I guess I’ll just admire yours. Nicely done!
Melissa
November 13, 2022 at 2:47 pmThis looks yummy and so easy. I’ve bookmarked it to make later, and bonus that it looks versatile for making variations based on what we have on hand.
Anne
December 6, 2022 at 9:50 amThis looks wonderful. I would not put in the coconut milk, though. I cannot stand the taste of coconut. One of the few foods I really cannot stomach! I imagine you could add some other type of milk or non-dairy milk, though. I haven’t had ramen in forEVER (college, probably freshman year, which is waaaay too long ago…) but can totally see why you were craving it post-COVID!