Spicy Beef (or Vegetable) Ramen Bowls

This is not your college ramen. This is grown up ramen, and it’s fantastic. I am in the midst of a love affair with ramen and I blame Ani Ramen House in Montclair, NJ.

This past week I was browsing different recipes to try out at home but I ended up creating my own version with a couple of store bought ingredients that made it very easy and fun. This can easily be made vegetarian simply by omitting the beef. The base of the soup is a miso broth, not chicken or beef stock.

Ingredients:
Thinly sliced marinated beef (I used a Korean marinated beef from Trader Joe’s but you could make your own marinade very easily by combining 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon chili flake).
1 package of sliced white button mushrooms
1 large carrot sliced into thin sticks
1 small head of bok choy, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
4-6 cups of water
2-4 tablespoons of sirracha
5-7 tablespoons of instant miso (I used a brand from Whole Foods)
2 packages of ramen noodles (discard spice packet)
2 eggs

Directions:
Prep all your ingredients before you start cooking. Either grill or saute beef in a teaspoon of sesame oil, approximately 2 minutes each side as it should be very thinly sliced. Once beef is cooked, set aside. Wipe out pan and heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms and carrots until tender and then set aside. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot and 2 cups of cold water and 2 eggs to a boil in a smaller pot at the same time. Cook the eggs over high heat for 10 minutes. Add instant miso and sirracha to the larger pot. Carefully taste the broth to be sure you have enough miso and sirracha. Then boil the ramen noodles for about 4 minutes until soft. Stir in bok choy, green onions, and beef.

To plate use two large bowls. Divide the soup between both bowls and top with the mushrooms, carrots and a peeled soft boiled egg. Serve immediately!

There are a lot of moving parts with this dinner but it all comes together in a wonderful way. It’s spicy, salty, and satisfying. The soft boiled egg was my favorite part. It adds a richness from the runny yolk that pulls the whole dish together. This is perfect for a rainy day or really any day. I don’t think it will re-heat well because the noodles are delicate, so make just enough for that night.

Enjoy!