Even before I thought of posting a round up of my failed recipes, I posted an attempt at Ramen that was a failure. Following my friend’s advice, Lynn from BreadOnButter, I approached the Ramen again last year with a fair success. Yet, it was nighttime and it didn’t look photogenic enough for a post. Lynn’s recipe used bok choy, so I bought one and used the leaves for the Ramen. I also trimmed off the bottom and left it to sprout, giving nice green leaves again. But the weather was warm, so the sprout gave a shoot which gave flowers that turned into seeds. Now I have bok choy seeds to plant! Let’s hope they work.
This year, I’m craving Asian flavors like crazy, and the texture of noodles. You might as well throw me in a pool of noodles with soy sauce and sesame oil fountains and call it Christmas!

I’ve been doing some stir fries, noodles with sauce, even instant noodles WITH the flavor packs it comes with (blame it on the blue period) but still, a filling and delicious ramen bowl is craved.
One day, after a VERY long and exhausting day of music video shooting for Bruno, in the freezing highlands that once warmly housed us during summer, all I could think of was a warm bowl of noodles and a hearty soup. Knowing that I only slept for 3 hours the night before and been up and active all day under all the circumstances, I still maintained my strength to shower when I got back home and make food for myself. Keeping Lynn’s recipe in mind, I started grating and chopping, frying and boiling until I got a delicious bowl of warm soup, vegetables, and noodles. I sat up in bed, in my favorite plaid pants, slurping and laughing to the timeless Will & Grace.

Despite the fact that it was good, the craving didn’t stop. I went into the kitchen a couple more times and revisited the recipe and filled my tummy ❤️
Upon Maya’s request, I wrote down the recipe and shot it pulling out the best plates for Ramen and trying out different backdrops and placemats to match the beauty of the content.

Vegetables Ramen Noodles Soup

Makes 2 big bowls

Ingredients

• 1 thumb ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (test your soy sauce so it wouldn’t be too strong)
• 1 tbsp Kithul syrup (or honey)
• 1 liter water
• 5-7 white mushrooms, sliced or quartered
• 2 bunches soba noodles or 2 bihon (yellow thin noodles) sheets or instant noodles (without the flavor packs)
• 1 Portobello mushroom, sliced
• 12 Cherry tomatoes
• 1-2 boiled eggs
• Spring onions
• Coriander

Procedure

• Heat the oils in a deep pot. Grate the garlic and ginger and fry in the oil over medium heat. Slice the onion and toss in the pot until soft, 3-5 minutes
• In a small bowl, mix the mirin, fish sauce, soy sauce, and Kithul syrup or honey until combined.
• Once the onions have wilted, add the spices, Turmeric and pepper flakes, and fry until fragrant. Add more oil if needed. Carefully pour the sauce mixture and stir well. Pour the water and bring the heat back to high. (Optional: you could transfer the soup to a blender, or use an immersion blender to pulse the mixture into a more homogenous consistency) Once the mixture boils, simmer over low heat for 10 minutes and throw in the sliced white mushrooms.
• Soft boil the eggs
• Cook the noodles according to package directions, depending on your noodles of choice
• Divide the ingredients into 2 large individual serving bowls: put the mushrooms to one side, the tomatoes next to them, half of the spring onions, and the noodles. Pour the broth/soup into the bowls and put a sliced egg in each bowl and garnish with the rest of the spring onions and coarsely chopped coriander
• Suggested toppings: julienned carrots, baby corn, bean sprouts, nori leaves, grilled chicken, edemame,…

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