This tofu ramen features pan-seared tofu, a rich spicy miso broth, and dry ramen that taste just like fresh. Vegetarian & ready in 25 minutes!
Homemade Tofu Ramen
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First ramen my wife has ever liked. Tofu is incredible, easy to cook, will definitely make this again!
Adam Cass
This tofu ramen is lyfe. 🙌
Thanks for coming, end of story, goodbye, see you next time!
Okay, I’m kidding – but I really almost feel like I could just leave it at that “Tofu Ramen is Lyfe” statement and there would be nothing more that would need to happen here except you grabbing a big bowl, piling it high with slippery ramen noodles, pouring that spicy miso broth over the top, adding a scoop of seared tofu or a soft boiled egg, drizzling everything with sesame or garlic oil, tossing in a handful of scallions, and going to town with your chopsticks to the delight of your little ramen-loving heart.
Amiright?
What I Love About This Tofu Ramen
This is not necessarily a super authentic spicy ramen recipe. Because, like, I don’t really know my way around authentic ramen.
This is more like one of those times when you go to an adorable Japanese bistro and have LIFE-CHANGINGLY-DELICIOUS spicy house-made ramen, so you go find an authentic-looking recipe online, and then just make a less-authentic version of it using whatever you can get your hands on without running around to 12 different grocery stores. Yes. That is our ZONE today.
We are being tutored by the greatness of Lady and Pups and we are making the ramen situation work for the average person with an average-ly stocked kitchen. Annnnd ordering a few things on Amazon will help us out big time. God bless Amazon.
Ingredients You Need
Here are the products I recommend ordering for this recipe, in order of importance.
- Ramen Noodles (tastes ridiculously similar to FRESH ramen when cooked 😍).
- Red Miso (might be able to find this at some grocery stores).
- Tofu Press (not really necessary, but fun for tofu lovers).
There is a good chance you can find miso paste at the right grocery store, and the tofu press is sort of just an extra fun thing.
But the ramen noodles.
WHOA BABY those ramen noodles are yummy. They are dry, like the regular pasta that we buy all the time, but they are at least five steps up on the food scale from the small 20-cent packages of ramen that you might otherwise be tempted to use (I only say it because I’ve been there).
How To Make This Tofu Ramen
Once you have your paste prepped and made, this ramen comes together quickly (under 30 minutes!).
Let’s start at the top.
Step #1: Make a Miso Paste
You’ll use a mix of red and white miso, and lots of other yummy aromatics and spices. Once it’s all pulsed together, you can freeze half of it for another batch later! The miso paste will be used in the tofu AND the broth.
Step #2: Cook Tofu
Press your tofu and get it all nice and crispy in a pan!
Step #3: Simmer the Broth
Mushrooms, miso, broth, and soy milk. It’s creamy, salty, umami, and delicious!
Step #4: Cook Noodles and Eggs
Cook some soft boiled eggs (directions below!) and cook your noodles.
Step #5: Serve
Ladle the broth and tofu over your bowls of noodles and top with an egg and scallion!
How To Make a Soft-Boiled Egg
It’s actually kind of hard to make a soft-boiled egg.
But it’s worth trying, and it’s still worth serving an egg with your ramen even if it looks like someone clawed it apart in a moment of uncontrolled hunger.
Here’s how I do it:
- Bring a pot of water to gentle boil (you want enough water to cover eggs by about one inch).
- Gently add eggs to the water and time for about 6 1/2 minutes.
- Remove and transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool.
- Peel, cut, YUM! Those jammy yolks!
That is all.
If you realllllly want an easy button option, I’ve loved this (relatively cheap!) egg cooker and used it many times over the years! (affiliate link)
Video To Make This Ramen
Homemade Spicy Ramen with Tofu
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Homemade Spicy Ramen recipe with an easy spicy miso paste for the broth and dry ramen noodles that taste JUST like fresh! Vegetarian / vegan.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Spicy Miso Paste:
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1/2 cup red miso
- 1/2 cup white miso
- 3 tablespoons sambal oelek
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Ramen:
- 12–15 ounces extra-firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 eggs
- 5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped (but see notes about dried mushrooms!)
- 3–4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 cups plain unsweetened soy milk
- 6 ounces ramen noodles
- scallions, roasted seaweed, sesame oil for serving
Instructions
- Make Miso Paste: Pulse all miso paste ingredients together in a food processor until a smooth, thick paste forms. You will use about half of it for this recipe and the other half can be frozen or refrigerated for a few days.
- Cook Tofu: Press as much moisture as you can out of the tofu using paper towels or a tofu press. Cut into cubes. In a large pot, heat the oil on medium high heat and start frying the tofu. Once the tofu has browned, add 1/4 cup of the spicy miso paste and cook for another minute or two to get a nice golden color. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Make Broth: (See notes about dried mushrooms if using) To the same pan, add the chopped shiitake and a tablespoon or so of miso paste and stir fry until golden brown. Add the stock and soy milk and bring to a simmer. Place 1/2 cup spicy miso paste on top of a very fine sieve. Lower the sieve half-way into the simmering soup and use a spoon to slowly dissolve the paste into the soup. Discard the “solids” remaining in the sieve and let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning – add salt or a little soy sauce until it tastes like a spicy ramen broth.
- Make Eggs and Cook Noodles: Cook the ramen noodles according to package instructions and drain well. While the ramen is cooking, bring a small pot of water to boil. When it reaches boiling, add 4 eggs and reduce heat to the lowest possible setting. Cook for exactly 7 minutes, remove eggs from water, run under cold water, and let them set for a few minutes. Peel shells off carefully. Yolks will be soft.
- Finish and Serve: Divide the noodles into four large bowl and ladle the soup on top (you may have a bit more than needed). For each serving, top with the tofu, 1 soft-boiled egg (cut in half), scallions, and sesame oil.
Notes
Mushrooms: For the mushrooms, the original recipe said to use dried but they can be hard to find which is why I wrote the recipe to use fresh mushrooms. As written, the recipe will yield a slightly thicker broth because it includes a little bit of the paste stir fried with the fresh mushrooms. **But if you can find dried, then just skip the stir fry step and go straight to simmering the dried mushrooms, broth, and soy milk together. This gives you a much lighter, thinner broth that is very slurpable and delicious.
Along the same lines, for the spicy miso paste in step three – if you dump the whole thing directly into the soup, it will make the soup very thick. Not good.
Miso: You cannot use just white miso for this recipe (too sweet) but you could use just red miso. We made a version that used just red miso and it worked out okay.
Vegetarian and Vegan Swaps: To make this vegetarian and/or vegan, omit the eggs and/or swap chicken stock for vegetable stock.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: homemade ramen, spicy ramen, tofu recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make this vegetarian?
This recipe is already fully vegetarian!
How can I make this vegan?
Omit the eggs and this is entirely vegan.
How can I make this gluten-free?
Use gluten-free ramen noodles, and ensure that your miso paste is gluten-free.
What are the best ramen noodles to use?
These are the ones I love the most! (Affiliate link) They’re dried noodles, but taste fresh! If you can’t access them, you can use regular bricks of ramen and just omit the flavor packet.
How should I store this for leftovers?
I like to keep the noodles separate from the broth so that they don’t get mushy! The leftovers overall will keep for 4-5 days. The broth will settle so just ensure you mix it well before reheating.
Can I use just one type of miso?
I find white miso to be too sweet, so I would not use just white miso. You could use red miso paste on its own and just add a bit of sugar to add some sweetness.
Can I air fry or bake the tofu?
Yep! Here are directions for air frying tofu. I also love ramen with shredded crispy tofu on top!
Can I use meat instead of tofu?
Yep – you could use ground chicken or ground pork in place of the tofu and cook it in a skillet until crisped.
Three More Vegetarian Ramen Recipes
Filed Under: All Recipes Dairy-Free Dinner Main Dishes Pasta Recipes Soups Sugar-Free Tofu Vegetarian Winter
February 1, 2016
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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This looks delectable per usual. One point on the egg…an easier method maybe to poach it easy. That way you get the texture and yumminess (that’s a technical word btw) of a soft boiled egg with less fuss. Ooh…and another point…fresh eggs are best for poaching, older eggs are best for boiling in the shell. Can’t wait to try this!
Agreed! Wish we would have thought about that before going through a few soft boiled egg explosions first! haha.
ooh! Maybe poach the egg in the broth?
Homemade spicy ramen with tofu is lyfe. (MIC DROP) I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about this! Wish this were my lunch today. Maybe later this week. 😉
LOL – such a perfect time to do the mic drop.
Ahh Lindsay this looks amazing! Sounds so warm and cozy and comforting and totally delish.
Thanks Lucia! 🙂
Okay….confession…never had Ramen in my life…but by the looks of it, it is riiiiight down my alley so I am feeling a ‘first’ comin’ on! 🙂
And favorite quote of the day: looks like someone clawed it apart in a moment of uncontrolled hunger. <3 <3
…I only speak the truth of what happened. 🙂 haha.
This sounds amazing – YASSS – Homemade ramen is most definitely “LYFE”!
Yes! For sure!!
OMG this looks amazing! The egg looks delicious. This is crazy, but I have never had Ramen, not even the 20 cent packets when I was in college. I think your recipe is a good way to jump into the ramen world!
no way! it’s time to jump on the ramen train Emily! 🙂
My husband and I FINALLY made it to an incredible ramen house in Nashville where we live. I died and went to noodle bowl heaven. The pork broth was so incredible that I have made it my mission to make my own at home. Great recipe!!!!
Seriously. This broth will be a step down from any ramen place – their broths are SO SO GOOD. I think traditionally ramen broth has dashi, which I just omitted altogether since I didn’t want to buy any one-time-use ingredients for this… but still, this is pretty good for a homemade version if you ask me. 😉
It was delicious! Do you have any suggestions for the extra miso paste? I made a full batch of it but halved the rest of the recipe so I have a bunch in my freezer now!
These lettuce wraps would be perfect! You could always sub tofu for the chicken if you’d prefer. 🙂
Looks so good! Hmmm, I love ramen but this looks too involved for me. I’m too much of a health snob to eat packaged ramen though, although tempting – would rather save my fat for favorite treats. Thanks for helping me get hungry though! Bita
Ramen is one of my desert island foods (I almost typed “dessert island”, which would probably be more fun ), so I definitely want to try this version. I actually found the most amazing store bought ramen ever with fresh noodles and some sort of delicious flavour paste so now I don’t know how anything I make from scratch will measure up, but I’m not ready to give up on homemade just yet!
That’s amazing! I wish the places I grocery shopped carried fresh ramen. 🙁
I have yet to make homemade ramen. I wish I could order this. Yum!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
I live in New York and have yet to try some authentic Ramen … craziness, I know. Thanks for sharing this recipe, it looks incredible!
This looks beyond amazing! I tend to spend all of my money on food, specifically soup (I can eat it all day, every day, and any time of the year). I haven’t heard of some of your ingredients but would love to try this recipe for sure!
Girl I have been dreaming about ramen for sometime now and today I see this!! I am drooling and that crispy tofu is just the way I like my tofu 🙂
This looks seriously amazing.
This looks soooo good!! I’m not a fan of the flavor/texture of soy milk. Did you by chance test with dairy milk, or have thoughts on subbing it? Thanks!!
Hi, Kim! We did not test with dairy milk. It very well could work, but I’m not sure how the flavor would be. I would maybe suggest an almond milk or coconut milk instead.
Hey Kim! I actually made this again last night to test it with the dry mushrooms, and I was out of soy milk, so I used regular milk and it was still delicious. 🙂
i really like frozen sun ramen noodles! they come in a clear plastic clamshell, and i find them all the time in japanese/chinese stores (in california). they have a really nice chew. and apparently that company makes the noodles for major ramen places (including the momofuku empire!).
No way! I have been looking for fresh ramen in the grocery stores I shop at, but sadly the only thing I can find is the 20 cent packages.
Yaasssss! This looks amazing. I’ve never made my own ramen in fear that it would just disappoint, but you’ve made it seem easy and I gotta try! Where I live there’s a place that does coconut green curry ramen and it’s so heavenly!!
Oh my gosh that sounds amazing! Green Curry Ramen!? I love it.
I make my soft boiled eggs just like you except I leave my water boiling and do 6-7 minutes. They always turn out perfectly. I think it’s easier than poaching, but I will poach my eggs for eggs benedict. 🙂
Ramen’s always been one of those things that I can find easily where I live, so I’ve never made it from home. But this looks delicious and easy, and since we’re trying to save money around here I might give it a whirl.
Oooh yes! It’s stuff like this that make food taste magical! Loving this recipe!
Oh my goodness, this looks and sounds amazing! Yum!
xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
This looks fantastic! I’m a little puzzled by the amounts of the spicy miso paste though – since you only use half in this recipe, can’t one just make half in the 1st place? Is the benefit just having miso paste ready to go for the second round? Or some other secret?
Hi, Breanne! Lindsay mentions that “the other half can be frozen or refrigerated for a few days.” We found it easier to make to paste in a larger quantity to start with. Other than that, no secrets. 🙂
This looks delicious, and I appreciate all your helpful notes and tips! Bookmarking for this weekend 🙂
My mouth waters when I read these articles!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I used almond milk instead of soy and I used zucchini noodles instead of ramen.
I love love love miso soup so it’s nice to have another way to make it!
Great, Anna! Glad you liked it!