Good news, noodle-lovers! An epic bowl of homemade ramen is within reach.

It’s all about #thatbroth, and this one is created with intense aromatics, sumptuous roasted garlic and the bold, hearty flavour of red miso. A perfect jammy egg and a spoonful of mind-blowing spicy, crumbled tofu round out each bowl, making this an incredibly satisfying bowl of noods – all in about 35 minutes once you have a good homemade stock and the roasted garlic handy.

[This post was originally created for and published at thesoupsolution.ca in October of 2017. A much-loved recipe there I’m excited to share an updated version with you here, at My Family Food Life.]

My noodle soup of choice during this particular stage of adulting (in which I enjoy limited free time for mid-week lunches while my kiddos are in school and I work from home) is the ever-popular Vietnamese noodle soup – pho. I’m never not down for a giant bowl of the fragrant, clear broth, with a pile of rice noodles and slices of tender beef.

With my default set to pho every time I had a moment to pop out for a quick lunch, my experiences with ramen remained fairly limited… until a little while ago.

Luckily I have a ramen-savvy pal, and with her guidance at first to decipher the menus, I was soon slurping away, content with bowls of rich broth and noodles, topped with tender, fatty meats, and my relatively safe selections from a list of various toppings.

I zoned in fairly quickly and regularly ordered miso ramen with a pork broth. Definitely on the heavier side – especially when compared to pho – and with complexity from the miso paste that I really enjoyed.

I’m the first to admit attempting to recreate such a developed broth at home in anything less than 6 hours does sound a bit ridiculous. And, while this soup isn’t in the same league as an expertly-crafted broth from a proper ramen shop, I will say it’s infinitely satisfying and a far cry from those instant ramen noodles of your university days.

Besides being just a damn good bowl of noodle soup, I’m pretty sure this broth will cure any cold, hangover, or just a bad day – hopefully you don’t have them all at the same time.

If you’re not already familiar with the spicy crumbled tofu you see added to the bowl, it deserves its own moment. I’m kind of obsessed actually, and I think once you try it, you will be too. The tofu is heavily inspired by Bon Appetit’s method for “how to make your tofu taste like pork” and transforms a rather drab block of tofu into something remarkably resembling meat. Once you swirl the crumbles through the soup broth and into the noodles, you’ll find it adds a spicy kick and satisfying bite to each spoonful.

A quick word about miso paste. There are various types of miso and I always have one, but usually more hanging out in my fridge for various uses from enhancing salad dressings and marinades to adding a little oomph to a pan gravy.

The three main kinds are white (Shiro), yellow (Shinshu), and red (Aka).

White and yellow miso are lighter and more delicate in flavour and are less salty than the darker miso. I’ll use these in salad dressings or as a probiotic boost to a mild broth when one of us is feeling sick. Just don’t add it to the hot broth or you’ll lose all the benefits. Wait until the broth is off the heat and stir it in at the end.

Red miso has a longer ferment time resulting in a more pungent flavour – perfect for richer dishes. The middle one in the photo below is actually a non-traditional style of miso made with brown rice called Genmai. It falls in the medium flavour range with yellow miso but offers the same fibre and nutrients found in brown rice. Nice, right?

This easy homemade miso ramen leans on the full-bodied quality and saltiness of Aka miso to help achieve a developed flavour in a short amount of time. If you happen to have, or can only find the lighter varieties of miso, don’t let that stop you. You’ll need to use more of it, but just taste as you go. A little extra soy sauce will help in this case too.

So, the next time you’re craving a substantial, soul-lifting bowl of noodle soup – you know right where to find it.

Thanks for reading and if you make this recipe, let me know! Drop a comment below and share your creation on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag #myfamilyfoodlife!

xo

Gayle