Whether on “Oops, what’s for dinner?!” day, lunch or after an exhausting shopping trip to Costco, I have made healthy instant ramen numerous times in the past month. We haven’t bought ramen for over a decade for health reasons but Costco has convinced me I should get not 1 but 2 packs of Lotus Foods organic ramen on sale. Inside are plain noodle blocks which at first upset me (no poisonous packets but no healthy seasoning either), but I quickly saw fun in making the most flavourful healthy instant ramen with 2 ingredients I always have on hand.
Miso paste and toasted sesame oil, and maybe dried mushrooms are kinda important too. At first when I grabbed them at Costco I didn’t know what for (I still have them listed under “Odds” in my Costco shopping list), but quickly they found their way into broccoli mushroom stir fry, red lentil vegetable soup and now how would I cook ramen?!
I happen to have a jar of miso paste on hand at all times, mainly for making easy miso soup with meatballs. I can’t recommend it enough because of immune boosting and gut healthy probiotics in a plant-based form, which I’m lately addicted to by making kombucha from scratch and fermenting sauerkraut. Miso paste is merely fermented soy beans with brown rice and salt. Look for organic miso paste in a fridge section of a health food store or natural food section of your grocery store (it is very popular item nowadays, no need to go to Asian store). It costs around $4-5 and lasts a while.
How to Make Healthy Instant Ramen
Start making healthy instant ramen by bringing water to a boil and turning off the heat. Fresh and quickly cooking ingredients are what makes instant noodles quick.
Add dried mushrooms first, they will get hydrated and flavour the broth (I love eating dried mushrooms straight from the jar). Then add ramen – it is pre-cooked and we want ramen to be chewy. Crack 2 eggs in an empty water spot – they will get poached. Cover and wait.
8 minutes later you will have this beauty. Just add frozen peas to warm up, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil (so much more flavour than non-toasted) and whisk miso paste in a bowl with a bit of water. Miso paste is thick, so if you add it to a pot it won’t mix well with the broth thus making ramen less flavourful. That’s it. You can also add whatever you fancy in your ramen.
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup dried mixed mushrooms (or shiitake)
- 2 blocks organic ramen
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsp miso paste*
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (I used Bragg liquid aminos)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 cups peas, fresh or frozen
- 2 green onions, chopped
Directions
- In a medium size pot or dutch oven, bring water to a boil. Add mushrooms and ramen making sure they are covered with water. Carefully crack eggs in the water, cover and let stand for 8 minutes. Everything cooks off heat.
- Remove lid, ladle some liquid into a small bowl along with miso paste, whisk well and pour back into the pot. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, peas and onions. Gently stir and serve immediately.
Notes
*Look for organic miso paste in a fridge section of a health food store or natural food section of your grocery store (it is very popular item nowadays, no need to go to Asian store). It costs around $4-5 and lasts a while.
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