I am now three days into my Vegan January challenge. As soon as I woke up on New Year’s Day, I realized I hadn’t done much preparation shopping-wise, so after lazing around for most of the morning, Chris and I walked over to the newish Greenpoint outpost of CHAMPS for some diner food. “I hope you realize that going vegan doesn’t mean that you get to only eat french fries all month” Chris said as I shoveled fries into my mouth. Whatever, Chris.

Yesterday was a bit better. I braved the cold during my lunch break to check out the newly opened Whole Foods on the disgusting beautiful Gowanus Canal. Have you visited yet? It reminds me of the sprawling suburban grocery stores of my youth, except four times more expensive and with three times the variety of kale. I was able to pick up some raw cashews to make cashew cream (more on that in another post) and a hearty salad with plenty of quinoa and nuts added for extra oomph.

For dinner, my stomach was craving warm comforting and fit for a snowstorm, so I created this miso soup with plenty of veggies and udon noodles. I didn’t use a vegetable stock, but if you have one, you could replace some or all of the water. You might also adjust the amount of miso and soy sauce in that case. As a rule, always adjust recipes to taste!

I want to mention that resources instruct not to boil miso and that it should be added only at the very end to preserve its health properties. I did not do that, I’m a little new to cooking with miso.

Ingredients

– 5 cups Water
– 4 Tbsp White Miso Paste
– 4-5 Tbsp Soy Sauce (more to taste)
– 2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
– 1 cup Mushrooms (I used beech mushrooms)
– 1/3 cup sliced Carrots
– 1 small Onion, chopped
– 1/4 cup Edamame, shelled
– 1/4 cup Scallions, chopped
– 2-3 ounces dry Udon Noodles
– Sriracha to taste

Directions

Bring water to a boil, add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Add onions and turn down to a simmer until onions are translucent. Add in the miso paste, carrots, mushrooms, edamame and most of the scallions. Once the vegetables are tender, bring to a boil again and add noodles. After the water begins to boil again, turn down to a simmer until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot topped with some fresh scallions and Sriracha to taste.

I’d like to work on my vegetable broth-making skills. Do you have any suggestions?

I am always amused with the diligence in which Gothamist covers New York’s neurotic (and absurd) food trends. As of late, there has been extensive coverage of the Cronut, but on Friday they mentioned the Ramen Burger being sold at Smorgasburg this weekend. I was intrigued, but as the Ramen Burger is quite a meaty item (not to mention I am terrible at successfully eating at Smorgasburg. It starts to remind me of the food court of my hometown mall but with bigger lines and more attractive people), I decided to create my own crispy ramen bun at home. Instead of using the ramen as a sandwich, I used it as a base on which to pile other delicious things.  

For the Bun

– 4 cups cooked Ramen Noodles
– Frying Oil

Note: I used Chinese Noodles from China Bowl select. There is a proper Ramen Burger recipe which suggests using an egg to bind, but these noodles stay together fairly well and I liked having the loose noodles ones you broke through the outside crispiness. If you are making an actual burger, the egg will help it stay together better. Also, the recipe suggests using sesame oil to fry, but I found that it smoked too much before I could get the crisp I wanted. I had canola oil on hand but next time I might use something like peanut oil.)

Divide the ramen into four and fit down into a ramekin or other round container. Use your hands to push down on the noodles and shape them. Cover and chill in the fridge while you prepare your other components.

When you’re ready to fry, heat up an inch or two of oil in a pan. Remove the noodles from the ramekins (they may not hold their shape perfectly, that’s ok) and fry in the pan, flipping to crisp both sides. Remove from pan and drain on a brown paper bag.

For the Carrots

– 1 large Carrot, julienned
– 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar 
– 1/2 cup Sugar
– 1/2 Tsp Salt

Whisk together the cider, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add carrots and toss. Cover and set aside until you’re ready to assemble.

For the Cabbage & Cilantro Slaw

– 2 cups Red Cabbage (chopped thin)
– 1/3 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
– 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
– 2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar

Whisk together mayonnaise and vinegar in a bowl. You may need to add more vinegar if it seems too thick. Add in cabbage and cilantro and toss to coat. Set aside until ready to assemble.

For the Mushrooms

– 4 cups Shiitake Mushrooms, chopped
– 1 Tbsp Miso Paste
– 2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
– 2 Tbsp Honey
– 1 Tsp Sesame Oil
– Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Salt

In a bowl, whisk together miso paste, vinegar, honey and sesame oil. It should be a nice consistency (not too thick). In a saute pan, saute the mushrooms in a bit of olive oil and season with salt. Once they begin to brown up, add in the miso mixture a spoonful at a time and toss to coat. Continue to saute until the glaze has nicely covered the mushrooms.

For the Egg

– 4 eggs
– Butter
– Salt

Butter a pan on low/medium heat. Add the egg (or eggs if you do all at once). Once the whites start to firm up, season with salt, remove from heat and cover. Keep an eye on the eggs. When the white is firm, they’re ready.

To assemble

Place a ramen noodle round on a place. Spoon a generous amount of miso mushrooms on top. Add the sunny-side up egg. Spoon on a fourth of the cabbage slaw and some of the pickled carrots. Top with more fresh cilantro if you’d like. Serve immediately.

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Wasabi & Soybean Vinaigrette This has a nice richness to it that would work nicely as vegetable dip or spread for sandwiches if you add less water, or as a dressing if you make it a bit thinner. 
1 1/2 cup cooked Soybeans (extra soft)1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil1 Tbsp Sugar1 1/2 Tbsp Wasabi, or to taste (I used wasabi paste, mixed with water) WaterIn a blender, blend together soybeans, rice wine vinegar & olive oil, scraping down the sides of the blender as need be. Add a bit of water until you get a nice consistency. Add in sugar and wasabi. Continue to blend until liquified. 
I blanched some asparagus and drizzled the vinaigrette over the top.
Spent some quality time with my neighborhood this weekend, as well as some time trying not to hurl on the East River Ferry to and from Governor’s Island. I grew up taking the ferry to Seattle and it still did not prepare me for those waves. Or as others like to spell it, those wavves.