Ready Steady Ramen — a plant-based Other recipe by BOSH!

Ready Steady Ramen

This is our go-to when we want something proper comforting but don't have all night to spend in the kitchen. Ready Steady Ramen is exactly what it sounds like: a big, slurpy, deeply flavourful bowl that comes together in about 25 minutes. The broth is rich with miso, soy, and nori, the tofu goes perfectly crispy, and the whole thing just feels like a hug in a bowl. We keep coming back to this one because it hits every note. Savoury, warming, satisfying. Make it tonight, trust us.

Cook: 25 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Medium saucepan
  • Large skillet
  • Large pot for boiling noodles
  • Microplane or fine grater for ginger

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp miso paste
  • ½ white onion
  • 3 garlic cloves - minced
  • ½ tsp ginger - grated
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 60ml soy sauce
  • 1 sheet(s) of nori
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 300g Shiitake mushrooms - sliced
  • 1 block of firm tofu
  • 2 head(s) of pak choi
  • 240g soba noodles
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 4 spring onions - sliced
  • crunchy peanuts
  • chillies

Method

1

Make the broth

  • Heat sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and cook the white onion for 6 minutes
  • Add the garlic and ginger until fragrant
  • Add broth, and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes
  • Add the soy sauce, miso paste and nori. Set aside
2

Frying the tofu

  • Meanwhile, heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
  •  Fry off the tofu until crispy
  • Set to one side
  • Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they start to sweat down, after 3 minutes add the pak choi and fry until tender
3

For the noodles

  • In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook soba noodles, stirring occasionally, until al dente
  • Drain noodles and divide between 4 bowls
4

Finish and serve

  • Meanwhile, simmer the reserved broth, divide greens between the bowls, divide the broth between the bowls and top with mushrooms, tofu, pak choi
  • Garnish with spring onions, chillies, sprinkle with sesame seeds and crushed peanut

Tips & Variations

  • Get the tofu crispy: Press your tofu really well before frying, even just 10 minutes between some kitchen roll with a heavy pan on top makes a big difference. Dry tofu browns so much better.
  • Miso matters: We use white miso here for a milder, slightly sweeter flavour. If you only have dark miso, use a little less or it can overpower the broth.
  • Make it your own: We love loading this up with toppings. Spring onions, sesame seeds, a drizzle of chilli oil, some corn; whatever you've got knocking about in the fridge honestly works.

Why This Works

The trick here is building the broth properly before anything else goes in. Cooking down the onion, garlic, and ginger in sesame oil first gets loads of flavour going before the liquid even touches the pan. Then the miso and nori go in at the end so they keep their depth without getting bitter. That's what makes this taste like it took way longer than it did.