It had been torn from a Bon Appetit, and a note before the recipe intrigued me. It said: “You can easily make this vegetarian—omit the pork and sub in 8 oz. shiitake or crimini mushrooms.” I loved this idea, and I happened to have mushrooms on hand because I had been making large batches of vegetarian chili. I made the noodles that evening, and perhaps reasoning a pass through the food processor might mimic the texture of ground meat, but more likely because time was escaping, I pulsed the mushrooms a few times in my Cuisinart. A knob of ginger followed. With a knife, I shredded a head of Savoy cabbage and chopped up a few scallions. I scoured the pantry for the seasonings, all of which I had on hand — soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil — and then for some sort of dried noodle. I found a bag of pad Thai rice noodles and went with it. The entire dish came together incredibly quickly, and what’s more, it was delicious! And loaded with vegetables! And nicely spicy! And balanced! And completely satisfying! Better than takeout indeed. I’ve made the dish a number of times since with various noodles and modifications. It’s becoming a favorite for its ease, flavor, and adaptability. Hope you love it, too.
A Few Tips:
Noodles: The original recipe calls for udon noodles, which I love for their chewiness, but which I can never find without making a trip to the Asian market. Ramen noodles, available everywhere, work beautifully, as do pad Thai noodles and likely many others. [Note: I don’t love the waste factor when buying individual ramen packets … is there another way?]Cabbage: If you can get your hands on Savoy or Napa, do it. They melt into the noodles in such a nice way. I also think you could substitute other greens such as Swiss chard, kale, or mustard greens. Most recently I made it with bok choy, thinly sliced, and I loved it.Mushrooms: I’ve been using cremini, because they are so low maintenance — no need to stem! — though I think shiitake would be delicious here. You could also add more than 10 oz. of mushrooms if you love them, and, of course, you can add other vegetables here, too.Sauce: The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup each mirin and soy sauce. I found it to be a touch sweet, so I’ve reduced the amount of mirin to 1/4 cup. That said, the dish may have been sweet because of the heap of cabbage. I encourage you to make it once, and adapt it to your liking.
How to Make One-Pot Ginger-Scallion Ramen Noodles
4.9 from 11 reviews Notes: Mushrooms: If you love mushrooms, I think you could get away with using even more here because they, like cabbage, shrink down so much. Other vegetables: This recipe can be adapted to what you like or have on hand. I love draining noodles over things like cabbage and dark leafy greens to soften them just slightly. If you want to add carrots, sweet potato, or other harder vegetables, you could shred them in the food processor to ensure they cook quickly.
