So I had recently eaten ramen for the first time in a good restaurant and I liked it a lot, so I decided to make it at home. However, it tasted bland. [This](https://youtu.be/r3\_tcQiyGG8?si=R3W\_KUKFu\_T2lHOk) is the video I used. However I did have to change a few things because I wanted my ramen to be veg and non-alcoholic, so to replace the sake in the ajitama tare I used rice vinegar, and to replace chicken stock powder, I used 1 dried shiitake mushroom and 1 kombu strip, I soaked it in 600ml water for almost 13 hours and when I boiled it, I removed both of them after a few minutes, and let it continue to boil at a medium-low flame. To replace lard, I used canola oil and toasted sesame seed oil. I didn’t know what noodles to use so I had just found some random whole wheat noodles and boiled that properly, strained the water before adding to the bowl. To the bowl I added the rest of the ingredients mentioned. For the ajitama tare, I had made it in a pan, heated it a lil and added the egg to it and spread the sauce all over the egg, then I cut the egg in half and added it to the boil. So is there any tips on how to make it not taste bland or how to improve it?
by Illchxxry
4 Comments
My first guess would be a lack of salt. When i make soy ramen i go for about 8% tare, on a 300ml bowl around 25ml. I dont know the size of your Tablespoon but would guess one ist just not enough. There are tares out there and there ist also a non-alcohol version of mirin to sub out sake and normal mirin. A little more veg in the stock also works wonders. Take a look at ramen_lords recepies in this sub
A couple things… Ryan in the video makes a quick & easy version, which means the ingredients he uses are minimized and each play an important role. If you start substituting them, your results are probably just not going to be that good.
The chicken bouillon powder does a lot of heavy lifting, flavor-wise. It also contains lots of MSG, and while you use a basic dashi (which often is the *basis* for a soup), it’s not going to come anywhere near the same level of umami or body as the powder or a real soup. Maybe there’s a different, vegetarian bouillon powder out there.
Raw vegetable oil like canola does not taste good on its own. I saw in a comment on the video that someone substituted butter for the lard, which I guess could work.
Rice vinegar is not a direct substitute for sake. Maybe your ajitama turned out good, idk. But you could try an alcohol-free mirin instead for a closer sub.
If you want to know how to turn regular noodles into approximations of ramen noodles, here’s another video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvrAlklZO0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvrAlklZO0)
If you’re looking for a good starting point, I recommend a different WoR video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImCUTkc17_o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImCUTkc17_o) If you want to stay at it, work your way up from there, the channel and this subreddit have some amazing resources!
I think you didn’t fully understand the video and the recipe.
I recommend reading Ramen Lords free ebook for better recipes and understanding.
Why wouldn’t you look up a vegetarian ramen recipe? You picked a random ramen recipe and started making random substitutions and now wonder why it’s bland?