I am an absolute ramen fiend – nothing beats a hot bowl of noodles and soup in the middle of a freezing winter. But most ramen broths are based in bone and meat for that intense flavour, and it does mean that my vegetarian friends often miss out on this awesome meal. But bone does add a depth of flavour that is hard to replace, so I thought to use Lapsang Suchong – a smoky black tea – and konbu – a dried seaweed – to add body to the soup.
The result is this Shiitake Mushroom Ramen that I can share with ALL my friends, and if I swapped out the egg and egg noodles, my vegan friends too!
Shiitake Mushroom Ramen Recipe
This shiitake mushroom ramen recipe uses a smoky lapsang suchong tea to create body, and is topped with a marinated egg, crispy lotus root, and browned king oyster mushrooms for a hearty winter warmer!
Ingredients
For the broth
- 30 g ginger peeled and sliced
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1/2 bunch spring onions
- 40 g konbu
- 1 L water
- 2 L strongly brewed lapsang suchong tea*
- 150 g dried shiitake mushrooms**
- 2 tbsp red miso heaped
- 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
For the eggs
- 6 refrigerated cold, large eggs
- 1/4 cup dark soy
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- 1/2 cup mushroom broth or water
- 20 g peeled and sliced ginger
- 2 stalks spring onion roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
To serve
- 6 bundles ramen noodles
- 18 slices of lotus root frozen
- 200 g king oyster mushrooms
- Pickles of your choice
- Sliced spring onions
- Nori sheets quartered
Instructions
For the broth
- Brown off the ginger, onion, and spring onion with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large 4-5L capacity stock pot, or pressure cooker.
- Rinse the konbu to ensure there's no sand remaining, and add to the pot with 1L of water and 1L of lapsang suchong tea.
- Add the dried mushrooms, soy, and miso, and simmer for 1.5 hour, or pressure cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the last 1L of lapsang suchong tea and simmer for another 10 minutes, or till reduced to desired intensity.
- Strain the broth, retaining the mushrooms for the gyoza recipe (to come next week!).
For the eggs
- Take 6 refrigerated eggs, and gently add to a pot of rapidly boiling water.
- Boil for 6.5 minutes, and refresh with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl or pot, stirring till the sugar dissolves.
- Peel the eggs carefully and add to the marinade. Leave for 30min-1hr to infuse.
To serve
- Fry the lotus root till crispy, according to packet directions.
- Slice and brown off the King Oyster Mushrooms
- Cook the ramen noodles in a pot of boiling water till al dente, and place into a deep bowl.
- Add boiling hot broth, and top with lotus root slices, halved egg, mushrooms, pickles and spring onion, to garnish.
Notes
*To brew the tea, add 10 teaspoons of tea to a large pot, and cover with 2L of recently boiled water. Leave for 30 minutes to get an intense infusion.
**Save the mushrooms after straining the broth in order to make gyozas as a side! Recipe to come next week
**Save the mushrooms after straining the broth in order to make gyozas as a side! Recipe to come next week
Stay tuned to Tea For Tammi for our next instalment to this recipe: Shiitake Mushroom Vegan Gyozas, as tasty side dish! Recipe coming next week
I am so in love with this recipe. Can you please come and make it for me, because I know I’ll never be able to do it as well as you!!!
Tammi I can honestly say I’ve never tried a Ramen before but you have got me wanting to with this delicious looking dish of yours, wow!
So much colour and so much deliciousness!
Thanks for linking up with us over at Fabulous Foodie Fridays, can’t wait to see what you bring to the party next week!
Have a beautiful weekend xx