Sesame Ramen with Roasted Tempeh and Seaweed

Oh my, I have all these beautiful organic ramen that I need to use up, and for some reason, there’s just that special type of taste and feeling ramen like this gives that other noodles can’t seem to replace. I can’t really put my finger on what it is!

I have plans on making the type of ramen you see on those authentic restaurants sometime, though it is a challenge to replace the non-vegan ingredients, but for now, this is a sesame flavoured ramen that has plenty of “meaty” taste with the tempeh!

Just a note on the ingredient, I used sesame paste rather than tahini. The two are different, as tahini is much lighter in colour, and sesame paste is ground sesames that has been roasted, so it’s much darker. I bought mine at the Asian grocery store.

The seaweed I bought was from Trader Joe’s and has a lovely wasabi flavour. There is also plain flavour as well! The ramen is Koyo, and bought through Amazon, it came in a large box. That’s the healthiest version I could find of ramen.

I really love the idea of making instant ramen more healthy. Before I became aware of health, I used to eat packets of instant noodles each day, yes sadly it was one of those with wax and all, I still love the taste of them, so that motivates me to create something that tastes just as good!

Sesame Ramen with Roasted Tempeh and Seaweed

Tempeh
1/2 packet tempeh
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
2 teaspoons dark/aged vinegar
2 teaspoons red wine
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup

Ramen
3 cups water
2 packets organic ramen
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame paste (or tahini)
1 tablespoon white cooking wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon miso paste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce (optional, adds saltiness)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan/sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
A pinch red pepper flakes
A few generous sprinkles ground pepper/Szechuan peppercorns
1 medium bok choy

Garnish
1 scallion
A few sheets roasted seaweed
A few sprinkles white sesame seeds
A few sprinkles ground pepper

Tempeh: Cut the tempeh in about 7 equal pieces and put it in a bowl. Add the soy sauce, olive oil, dark vinegar, red wine, garlic powder, onion powder, white sesame seeds and maple syrup. Let it marinate for about 2 hours, making sure that you use a spoon to flip it back and forth every 30 minutes.

About 15 minutes before you’re ready to cook the tempeh, preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).

Lightly spray some non-stick cooking oil on an oven tray and place the tempeh on the tray, spread out.

Bake for a total of about 15 minutes, be sure to flip them over half way.

Ramen: Put three cups of water in a medium saucepan, then add the ramen, olive oil, sesame paste (made from roasted sesame seeds and can be bought in Asian grocery stores, but can substitute with tahini), white cooking wine, sesame oil, miso paste, onion powder, garlic powder, rice vinegar, soy sauce (optional), cayenne pepper, salt, ground ginger, red pepper flakes and pepper/Szechuan peppercorns.

Remove the bigger stems from the bok choy until it’s pretty small, and chop it in half or quarters. Add that to the saucepan as well.

Turn the heat on high and cook for a total of 8 minutes (may take longer/shorter depending on the ramen and your stove), but by that time, the noodles should be boiling and soft. Place the ramen in a bowl or two ready to be served, add the tempeh pieces on top.

Chop the scallion in about two inches, then slice it into extremely thin threads and place it on top of the bowl. Chop a few pieces of roasted seaweed and place it on top as well.

Finally, garnish with some white sesame seeds and ground pepper.