Quick vegetarian meals made from ramen and other cheap ingredients.
Ramen is a cheap and easy meal for college students, people on the go, and anyone else looking to save time or money. Ordinary ramen soup, however, with its overly salty broth mix and limited flavors, can get boring very quickly. Here are some simple, cheap, vegetarian options for making ramen more interesting and satisfying.
Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen
- Cook ramen as usual, discarding flavor packet. Drain.
- In a medium, bowl, measure three tablespoons peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, but not the "fresh-ground" or "all-natural" varieties), one scant tablespoon soy sauce, dried red pepper flakes to taste (one quarter teaspoon will provide a medium-hot sauce), and about a tablespoon of warm water. Blend ingredients with a spoon until smooth. Add hot noodles and toss well.
- Spicy peanut butter ramen tastes great as a cold dish, similar to Chinese cold sesame noodles, as well as a hot meal. The peanut butter sauce can also be used as a marinate or dipping sauce for steamed vegetables, meat, or tofu.
Garlic Tofu Ramen
- In a medium saucepan, sautée one or two cloves of minced garlic, a teaspoon fresh minced ginger, and minced fresh chili pepper to taste.
- Crush one package of Top Ramen brand Oriental flavored ramen. (This is important, as other brands' Oriental flavor contains meat flavorings, while Top Ramen's Oriental flavor is vegetarian.) Add the crushed ramen, a handful of chopped frozen broccoli, and two ounces of pressed, diced tofu to the pan, along with half a cup of water and half of the contents of the Oriental seasoning packet. Simmer until ramen noodles are soft.
- For a simple, microwavable version, blend half a cup water with half of the Oriental seasoning packet, a quarter teaspoon garlic powder, a few pinches of ground ginger, and a quarter teaspoon dried red pepper flakes. Add crushed ramen, broccoli, and tofu. Microwave for two to three minutes, stirring occasionally, until ramen noodles are soft.
Spinach Parmesan Ramen
- Thaw about two ounces of frozen spinach (this works best with the spinach in bags, which is frozen in loose pieces, rather than the spinach frozen in one big block). Thaw it and squeeze out the excess water. Tear the spinach into small pieces.
- Cook ramen according to directions and drain. Return to the pot and add one egg beaten with two tablespoons cream, two tablespoons parmesan cheese (use the little packets that come with pizza), the spinach, and garlic powder and pepper to taste. Heat, stirring constantly, until the egg is cooked and the spinach is heated through.
The copyright of the article Easy Vegetarian Ramen Variations in Vegetarian Cuisine is owned by Amelia Hill. Permission to republish Easy Vegetarian Ramen Variations in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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