Creamy Thai Curry Ramen, vegan and gluten free

Believe it or not, but I haven’t had ramen in years. Vegan and gluten free options aren’t widely available (at least not where I live, that I know of!). A friend of mine brought up making ramen together and so I started doing some recipe research. I was totally inspired by all the delicious possibilities–and especially happy to have found some vegan and gluten free ramen noodles! I immediately started working on this recipe, a creamy Thai curry ramen that is vegan and easily gluten free, if you use the right noodles!

Ramen is a Japanese dish. Ramen can be a lot of different things; different regions in Japan have different variations of the dish. The key ingredients, from my understanding, are a style of wheat noodle (known as ramen noodles), a flavourful broth, a protein, vegetables, and garnishes like green onion. Here in North America, many of us white kids probably grew up thinking of ramen as little packs of instant noodles–I know I did. It’s so much more, though.

This ramen recipe incorporates a Thai curry paste and coconut milk into the broth. Many ramen recipes use meat to make a flavourful broth, adding miso and/or soy sauce. I love a miso broth, but I have been craving creamy and spicy dishes lately. Keep reading below for my tips on making this dish, and for some information about the ingredients!

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The Creamy Thai Curry Broth:

Like I said, I wanted something creamy and spicy to eat. To achieve the spicy, I added massaman curry paste to the broth. What goes perfectly with massaman curry paste? Coconut milk, of course! There is also an odd ingredient added to the broth: nutritional yeast. I think if I had to make a new food group, I would make nutritional yeast a food group. It’s a major staple in my diet. But, I didn’t just add it in the broth because it’s one of my favourite foods. It really adds a savoury-ness and depth to this broth.

I thought I’d share a couple more tips with you, so that you can (hopefully) love this broth as much as I do:

-Don’t be afraid–let those onions get really brown! You won’t be eating the onions, but you need them to release their flavour into the broth. Getting them really brown and a little burnt helps enhance the flavour of the broth.
-Once you have added the coconut milk, try to not let the broth boil. Of course, if the broth boils it’ll still be delicious and edible. But coconut milk is a very delicate (that doesn’t seem like the right word?) liquid, and it’s best if it hasn’t been brought to a boil.
-Try things you like! You could definitely add some kaffir lime leaves or even use a different curry paste!

I know some of the ingredients, especially the massaman curry paste, may not be easily accessible. You can order some brands through amazon, like this one here, but the one I use is not available online. You can definitely sub red curry paste, though!

The Rest:

The noodles. Okay, these are key. I use the Lotus Foods ones, which you can grab on Amazon. They’re a little expensive, but definitely worth it! I found them extra pricey at my local health food store, but I had good luck at Costco! The ones on Amazon are more than at Costco, but cheaper than the ones at my health food store. You can also most definitely sub rice noodles!

I love mushrooms, so this thai curry ramen recipe has two kinds in it! Feel free to sub out for something else. That goes for all the ingredients, really. For example, this recipe calls for tofu puffs, but you can use any kind of tofu cooked to your liking! Don’t want tofu? Try some soy curls or maybe edamame!

I would not skip the green onion garnish, though. But again, whatever works for you!

I often make the full 4 servings of this Creamy Thai Curry Ramen for just the two of us at home so that I can take leftovers for lunch the next day. It makes a really nice, filling, and warm lunch. It’s already November, so us Winnipeggers will really be needing that extra warmth!

I hope you enjoy the recipe! If you end up making it (and hopefully liking it!) let me know, or take a picture and tag me on Instagram/twitter (at)theveganharvest!

Print

Creamy Thai Curry Ramen, vegan and gluten free

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 15 mins

 

This Creamy Thai Curry Ramen is the perfect combination of comfort, flavour, and spice!

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the broth:

• 2 tsp neutral oil
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 white onions, quartered
• 6 garlic cloves, quartered
• 1 thumb ginger, sliced
• 1/4 cup massamam curry paste*
• 5 - 6 cups vegetable broth (I used a mushroom broth!)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp tamari or other gf soy sauce
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tsp lime juice

For the rest:

• 4 servings of vegan/gf ramen noodles OR rice noodles**
• 2 tsp sesame oil, divided
• 2 baby boc choy, sliced in half
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 handful enoki mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups fried tofu puffs (can sub pan-fried tofu)
• green onions, for garnish

Instructions

Make the broth:

1. In a large soup pot (must be able to hold roughly 10 cups), heat the oils over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir a bit, but you really want the onion to get browned (almost burnt).

2. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, making sure the garlic gets browned but not burnt.

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the curry pasta. Stir it in as well as you can, trying to cover all the onions in the paste.

4. Add the broth and the coconut milk. Heat the broth until it almost reaches a boil, then turn down to low. You don't want the broth to boil because coconut milk is very sensitive.

5. Let the broth cook on low-heat for about an hour, ensuring that all the flavours get released.

6. Taste the broth, then add the sugar, tamari, and nutritional yeast. Taste again, and add lime juice - 1 tsp at a time - until the flavour is just right.

7. Strain the broth to remove all the chunks of onion, garlic, and ginger.

For the rest:

1. Ramen noodles: Cook according to package, drain, and set aside.

2. For the boc choy: Cut in half, and brush the inside with the remaining sesame oil. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Place the boc choy inside down on the grill pan, and cook until you get wonderful black grill marks and the white part of the boc choy has become tender - roughly 5-8 minutes. Alternatively, you can fry the boc choy. 

3. For the shiitake mushrooms: In a small pan, heat 1 tsp of the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and fry for 5-8 minutes, or until cooked. 

4. For the enoki mushrooms: Remove the bottom part of the mushrooms where they are all held together. You don't need to do anything with these! The heat of the broth will cook them just enough. 

5. For the tofu: If you buy the tofu puffs, you don't have to do anything for the tofu - the heat of the broth will heat them up. If you are using other kinds of tofu, you could fry the pieces in some sesame oil.

Assembling:

1. Place your ramen, mushrooms, boc choy, and tofu in a large bowl. Ladle the broth on top. Garnish with green onions.

Recipe Notes

*Tracking down a vegan and gluten free massamam curry paste might not be the easiest depending on where you live and where you shop! I've linked a brand in the blog post, however I haven't actually tried that specific one. I find mine at a local asian supermarket and you can also find some brands online. If you can't find it, a red Thai curry paste will do the trick, or you can try making your own paste at home! 

**I've linked the brand of ramen noodles I use in the blog post. I highly recommend these ones! They're delicious. They are a little pricier, so you can also sub rice noodles--I like the "pad thai" style rice noodle size for this recipe.