Mock Shark’s Fin Ramen

Ready-to-cook Mock Shark's Fin 250g S$8.50

After having the delicious Mini Pot Vegetarian Shark’s Fin at Eight Treasures Vegetarian Restaurant in Singapore Chinatown, it strikes a chord - that Shark’s Fin itself is bland and it needs other ingredients and good tasty broth to enhance its soft gelatinous texture. Therefore, why kill Sharks for their fin, after all preparing Shark’s Fin is so labour intensive, so go for the mock Shark’s Fin which has its texture.

So, I bought 250g ready-to-cook Mock Shark’s Fin @ S$8.50 and decide to cook this noodle. However, a lazy person like me, who won’t spend time making good tasty broth, I used granulated mushroom bouillon and light soy sauce for the soup based, which of course lack the natural sweetness of good broth you would find in a good restaurant.

The mock shark’s fin itself is tasteless, I tried to cut short the progress by adding Vegetarian Oyster sauce, light sauce to it and steamed for 10 minutes. The amount of Vegetarian Oyster sauce should have been reduced, as it gives the mock shark’s fin a not so natural colour. The process should be changed to simmer instead. Since this should be a simple bowl of Shark’s Fin noodle and I decided to arrange the main ingredient - mock shark fin on top of the noodle.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)

 2 Japanese Ramen, cooked

Mock Sharks’ Fin

 100g mock sharks’ fin

 2 – 3 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce

 2 teaspoons light soy sauce

 pepper to taste

 100ml water or vegetable stock

 2 teaspoons corn starch

Broth

 600ml water or vegetable stock

 2 chinese dried mushroom, soaked and sliced

 2/3 teaspoon granulated mushroom bouillon

 ¼ teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon light soy sauce

 ¼ teaspoon shallot/olive oil

Garnish

 some freshly spring onion or coriander leaves

Method

1. Combine all the mock Shark’s Fin ingredients in a bowl and steamed for 10 minutes and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, place the mushroom and water/vegetable stock in a pot and bring to a boil. Season to taste with granulated mushroom bouillon, salt, light soy sauce, oil and pepper. Set aside.

3. Arrange the cooked ramen in each individual bowl and top with the mushroom. Ladle the soup into each individual serving bowls.

4. Place the mock shark’s fin on top, garnish with spring onion or coriander and serves immediately.

My Miso Japanese Ramen (Vegetarian/Vegan)

Miso Ramen with okra, shiitake mushroom and carrot toppings Miso Ramen with nori shreds, shanghai green, mock meat and carrot toppings

Have I gone crazy about Ramen? No, not me! Just to finish up all the Ramen that was sitting in the freezer, so I decide to have a different variant – Miso. Miso Broth for Japanese Ramen is common. Veg*n version is not difficult to recreate. Of course, if you have good broth, it definitely gives this dish a boost. As for the shiitake mushroom and okra, you can blanch them in the broth prior to adding miso and rice wine to broth.

Oh yeah, keep the kelps to make a Seasoned Kelps side dish or added to this Miso Ramen if desired. Shredded kelps might looks more appealing compare to kelps in knots.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 Japanese Ramen, cooked
° 2 okra, sliced lengthwise and blanched
° 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, blanched
° 10 slices carrot, for garnish
° some freshly spring onion, shredded or chopped

Broth
° small handful kelps in knot
° 3 slices ginger
° 750ml water
° 1 tablespoon miso or to taste
° 1 tablespoon rice wine (optional)

Method
1. Place the kelps, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove all the ingredients. Season to taste with miso and rice wine.
2. Meanwhile, place the ramen in each individual bowl, top okra, mushroom, spring onion and carrot.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve immediately.

Dried Japanese Ramen (Vegetarian/Vegan)

This is real simple! What you need to do is to cook the Japanese Ramen based on the instruction given on the packaging. Using Vegetarian BBQ Sauce沙茶酱) to transform it to a bowl of palatable Dried Japanese Ramen. Add a bit of olive oil to the Ramen so that it does not stick together. Or add some vegetable stock to make it tastier. As for the topping, any ingredients you prefer. I like to use King Oyster Mushroom, as it is easily available and the price is reasonable, it gives some textures to this dish. Opt for Bailing Mushroom (which has the abalone texture) specially braised if prefer to give a more posh feel. Pair this with a decent small bowl of soup to make it perfect!

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 Japanese Ramen, cooked
° 50g king oyster mushroom, sliced and blanced/cooked
° 10 slices carrot, for garnish
° some freshly spring onion, shredded or chopped
° Vegetarian BBQ sauce (沙茶酱) to taste

Method
1. Place the ramen in each individual bowl, top with the king oyster mushroom, spring onion, carrot and Vegetarian BBQ sauce. Serving bowls and serve immediately.

Scrumptious Japanese Ramen (Vegetarian/Vegan)

HA! I finally whipped up a bowl of delicious Japanese Ramen at home using whether ingredients that I can find in the refrigerator late last evening!

It is difficult to find Japanese Ramen here in Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian eateries. In best Ramen eateries (non-vegetarian), the soup broth is a Big NO-NO for veg*n as it calls for pork bone or fish even if they offer Veggie Ramen or Mushroom Ramen! As for the Vegetarian eateries, there are serving China Ramen style and not the Japanese Ramen.

Use your own version vegetable stock or mushroom stock, if desired. I added a distinctive seasoning (e.g Vegetarian BBQ Sauce沙茶酱) to transform the quick vegetable broth into a restaurant-quality Ramen. As for the topping, be inventive and flexible, lady-finger, alfalfa with avocado, lettuce shreds, snow peas, veggies tempura, mint, nori, kelps, wolfberries, it can be any fine ingredients as long as it goes well with Ramen in taste and the whole presentation.

As for the broth, you can add cabbage or kelps or soy beans, and cook longer to extract the sweetness from these ingredients. For an impatient person like me, I chopped up the vegetable into small pieces and shorten it to half an hour. You can use miso, tom yum or whatever for the broth … feel like making another Ramen for lunch ...

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 Japanese Ramen, cooked
° 50g king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 10 slices carrot, for garnish
° some freshly spring onion, shredded or chopped
° 4-6 pieces agedashi tofu or deep-fried tofu

Broth
° 2 stalks celery, sliced
° 1 (100g) carrot, sliced
° 6 seedless red dates
° 3 slices ginger

° 1 litre water
° salt to taste
° 1 tablespoon Vegetarian BBQ sauce (沙茶酱)or to taste

Method
1. Place the celery, carrot, red dates, king oyster mushroom, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove the king oyster mushroom and set aside. Discard the rest of the vegetable. Season to taste with salt and Vegetarian BBQ sauce.
2. Meanwhile, place the ramen in each individual bowl, top with the king oyster mushroom, agedashi tofu, spring onion and carrot.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve immediately.