In the spirit of shaking things up & learning more about vegan ramen, I tested Tim Anderson’s recipe for vegetable paitan in his latest book, [Ramen Forever](https://www.amazon.com/Ramen-Forever-Recipes-Success/dp/1784886602)*.* I really appreciated his approach to the broth, which was to veer away from typically using soy (or another plant based) milk as the base for a creamy & more complex vegan paitan. He utilizes waxy potatoes & okra to fortify the texture (unfortunately I could not source any natto), combined with blending the rest of the ingredients. There’s a very hefty serving of shortening to emulsify as you boil & blend as well, so this soup felt way more substantial than thinner soy milk based soups.
Dried shiitake & kombu provide most of the umami, but I feel like dried porcini could add more depth. Combined with a shio tare and splash of raw soy sauce, this was a very comforting broth with a silky texture. So much more complex in terms of flavor. A slight sweetness from the Napa cabbage was subtle but contrasted with the salinity of the tare.
The mayu, toppings (seared lion’s mane, seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, shiro shoyu), and noodles (spelt, 32% hydration, thin cut) were all made by me. Overall it was a great bowl and I’d love to push it further (more umami, try adding the natto).
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In the spirit of shaking things up & learning more about vegan ramen, I tested Tim Anderson’s recipe for vegetable paitan in his latest book, [Ramen Forever](https://www.amazon.com/Ramen-Forever-Recipes-Success/dp/1784886602)*.* I really appreciated his approach to the broth, which was to veer away from typically using soy (or another plant based) milk as the base for a creamy & more complex vegan paitan. He utilizes waxy potatoes & okra to fortify the texture (unfortunately I could not source any natto), combined with blending the rest of the ingredients. There’s a very hefty serving of shortening to emulsify as you boil & blend as well, so this soup felt way more substantial than thinner soy milk based soups.
Dried shiitake & kombu provide most of the umami, but I feel like dried porcini could add more depth. Combined with a shio tare and splash of raw soy sauce, this was a very comforting broth with a silky texture. So much more complex in terms of flavor. A slight sweetness from the Napa cabbage was subtle but contrasted with the salinity of the tare.
The mayu, toppings (seared lion’s mane, seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, shiro shoyu), and noodles (spelt, 32% hydration, thin cut) were all made by me. Overall it was a great bowl and I’d love to push it further (more umami, try adding the natto).
Paired it with the perfect beer from my favorite Maryland brewery, [Cushwa](https://www.cushwaradpiestaproom.com).
I didn’t know former White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson wrote a cookbook
Looks lovely!
Looks pretty dang tasty!