I bloody love Japanese food and ramen is one of my favourite comfort foods. It’s like a huge hug, and I needed it today after celebrating the new year with a couple too many drinks!

This recipe feeds 4 people (and reheats perfectly for lunch the next day!)

Ingredients

For the broth

1 pint of vegetable stock

1 white onion, chopped

Thumb size piece of ginger

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp white miso paste

3 tbsp soy sauce

For the tofu & carrot

Block of firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes to release water

300g carrots, thinly sliced

4 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp agave syrup

2 tbsp sesame oil

For the pak choi & mushrooms

12 shiitake mushrooms

2 pak choi

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp white miso paste

1 tbsp agave syrup

1 tbsp soy sauce

For the rest

Udon noodles

Handful of bean sprouts

Pinch of Sesame seeds

Sliced chilli

Sliced spring onion

Method

1) Start the stock by sautéing the onions in a pan with a little oil, add the grated ginger and crushed garlic and fry for a further 3 minutes on a low heat. Add in the vegetable stock and soy sauce, bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and gently simmer for 30 minutes.

2) Meanwhile add soy sauce, agave syrup and sesame oil to a bowl, stir and drizzle on the carrots. Put into a preheated oven at 180° for 20 minutes until golden brown.

3) Boil the udon noodles according to the packet instruction.

4) Fry the firm, pressed tofu on a high heat for 2 minutes on each side. Then add in the soy/agave/sesame and fry until the sauce caramelises a little.

5) Whisk the miso paste, soy sauce, sesame and agave syrup until a smooth paste. Using a pastry brush, cover the pak choi and shiitake mushrooms with the mixture and cook for 2 minutes each side until golden.

6) Fry the bean sprouts in a dry pan for 3 minutes until cooked.

7) Add the cooked noodles, mushrooms, pak choi, carrots, tofu and bean sprouts to a bowl, cover with the stock, add the chilli, spring onions and sesame seeds to a bowl and eat until full!

I hope you enjoyed this delicious dish and it gave you the same warm hug it gave me!

For more vegan dishes, click HERE