Bougie Ramen 2.0

Why 2.0? This recipe is a remix of our Bougie Ramen recipe from our Student Bites cookbook which we served at RMIT University’s Frugal Canteen event. It is a sexy, sesame silken tofu saucy noodle bowl which is equal parts nourishing, nutritious and easy to replicate at home. A surprisingly simple umami bomb of a recipe that is packed with proteins, veggies and ferments but also easily adaptable to whatever’s in your fridge!

Ingredients

• 1 pack instant noodles

FOR THE SAUCE

• 75g silken tofu 

• 1/4 teaspoon finely minced garlic 

• 1/4 teaspoon finely minced ginger 

• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar (rice wine, or white) 

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce 

• 1 teaspoon miso paste 

• 1/2 teaspoon honey, maple syrup or sugar

• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds 

• Chilli sauce or powder, to taste (we like shichimi togarashi or kosho—but any kind of chilli works)

TOPPING IDEAS

Spring onion, coriander, boiled/poached/fried egg, seaweed, marinated firm tofu, grated carrots, finely sliced cabbage, kimchi, daikon pickles, sauerkraut, bean sprouts, blanched broccoli/asparagus/asian greens

Method

1. Cook noodles as per packet instructions, reserving 3–4 tablespoons of the cooking liquid before draining completely. 

2. Press the silken tofu through a fine mesh strainer until it is a paste, and mix in all the other sauce ingredients. Alternatively, you could put all the sauce ingredients in a smoothie blender and blitz into a smooth sauce. 

3. In the noodle pot, toss the noodles and the sauce to combine, adding the reserved noodle cooking liquid as needed to loosen the sauce to a consistency of your liking. Taste for seasoning and add chilli, black pepper or more soy sauce to taste.

4. Serve in the bowl topped with your choice of toppings. We love a soft boiled egg cut in half with some blanched greens and kimchi.

TIPS

• Why not bulk prep for the week? A standard 300g pack of silken tofu will make 4 servings of this sauce so multiply all the sauce ingredients by four, and keep it in the fridge ready to make some fancy 2-minute noodles whenever you feel like it (sauce will keep 3+ days in a container in the refrigerator) 

• Make this dish your own! If you love garlic, add more, same with ginger. Feel free to come up with even more toppings than we’ve suggested: the world is your oyster... mmm, tinned oysters 👀

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