You know when you get a hankering for ramen? Like good, super flavorful, salty, spicy, major umami ramen? And you know what a buzzkill it is to crave that ramen if you aren’t eating noodles? You might have a bright idea to make said ramen with spaghetti squash and get even more veggie-packed nutrition with a slight sweetness that pairs beautifully with the salty and savory broth.
Man, that’s hard to beat.
The broth here is a flavorful kombu dashi. Dashi is a japanese stock or broth. And kombu? Well, that’s seaweed or kelp.
Stay with me here, don’t get scared and run away… I know seaweed sounds weird, but it is super essential for that umami, something extra, something a little deeper flavor. The combination of dried mushrooms and kombu packed in this dashi? You won’t even miss the meat. There are layers and layers. It’s flavor on flavor.
The flavor is rich and deep. We’ve paired it here with our favorite crispy fried tofu, but you could absolutely sub in some pork, chicken, steak or poached or soft boiled egg and it would be delish. We try to eat at least one meat-free dinner a week for money saving purposes. It’s been a fun challenge to our creativity. We challenge you to try it too!
So now you may be thinking, “Ok, I’ll try your crazy seaweed thing, but where will I even find that?” We have an asian grocery store near our house. Google it, you may have one in your town as well. Or, you can absolutely order some of these specialty items from Amazon. 2-day shipping with Prime is my BFF.
Load up your cart, checkout and 2-days later you’ll be prepared to whip up an ethnic masterpiece. We LOVE driving people out of their food comfort zone. I mean, we live in the south (land of fried chicken and steak and potatoes for every meal… and we love tofu, many vegan meals and apparently eat seaweed).
Whether you think vegan = weird, tofu = gross or making a homemade dashi for your ramen = way-too-complicated, we want you to know you too can do this.
It’s seriously so doable. Have fun, experiment with flavors and make it your own. Do you like more or less ginger? Go for it. Do love the salty bite of soy sauce? Add in a little more (at the end after you’ve tasted for seasoning). Needing more spicy or more creaminess? Amp up the chili sauce or drizzle with extra coconut milk.
Try new things and push out of your comfort zone. You may just find a new favorite meal. Happy cooking, friends!
[cooked-recipe id=”1618″]
