Double Mushroom Ramen with Tempeh

Cool, rainy weekend days call for something comforting. For me, anything brothy always hits the spot, so I wanted to do ramen today. This ramen is deep and earthy from the mushrooms, miso and a hearty vegetable stock. The tempeh was a last minute idea, but it really balanced all of the flavors and gave even more depth to the bowl.

Ingredients (serves 2):

½ ounce package dried shitake mushrooms

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 (8 ounce) package tempeh

2 eggs

1 package ramen noodles, flavor packet removed (I used brown rice and millet noodles, because I had them—otherwise, I would’ve used regular ramen noodles)

¼ cup diced onion

1 carrot, sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 (1/2 inch) piece of fresh ginger, grated

4 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon miso paste (I used dark, but whatever you like is fine)

1 Tablespoon Tamari or regular soy sauce

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

Salt, to taste

2 green onions, sliced-for topping

1 few drops of toasted sesame oil-for topping

Directions: Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl with about a cup of hot water. Let sit for 15 minutes. Remove the mushrooms to a cutting board and save the mushroom water for later. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the canola oil in a skillet and sauté the tempeh for about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and cut into thin slices. Set aside.

Bring about 3 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Drop in the eggs and cook for 6 minutes. Remove the eggs to a plate and return the water to a boil. When cool enough to handle, shell the eggs and cut in half. Set aside.

Drop the ramen in the boiling water and cook according to package directions (about 3 minutes). Drain and set aside.

Dump the water out of your pot and add the last 2 teaspoons of canola oil. Heat the oil and medium and add the onions and carrots. Cook for about 3 minutes until the onions and carrots are soft, but not browned. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 more minutes or until you can smell the garlic and ginger.

Pour the veggie stock into the pot along with the reserved mushroom water (being careful to leave the last bits of the mushroom water with the sediment in the bowl-discard the sediment). Add in the miso and tamari and stir to combine.

Add in the sliced mushrooms (both shitake and fresh) and spinach. Season with salt to your taste. Lower heat to a simmer and let cook for at least 30 minutes.

Add the noodles to the pot and then ladle into bowls (or put the noodles in the bowl and top with broth-whatever you like). Top each bowl with 1 or 2 egg halves, some sliced tempeh, sliced green onions and a few drops of toasted sesame oil.