Creamy Colorful Vegetarian Ramen Bowl With Vegan and Gluten Free Option

These quick and easy ramen bowls make good use of small amounts of left over fresh vegetables! This dish takes less time to make each time I make it. Practice speeds up the process!

Makes two servings:

• Ramen: I like Lotus foods Gluten Free Millet and Brown rice ramen best (use two packages for two servings.)
• No-Chicken Broth (or other vegetable or miso broth)
• One egg, soft boiled (leave out to make vegan)
• One block of tofu, patted dry, cut into dice size cubes.
• cooking oil spray or 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
• Fresh vegetables cut into small pieces: (snap peas, baby corn, purple cabbage, thin carrot slices, broccoli, edamame, are all good options)
• Optional: Canned coconut milk or cream
• Coconut Aminos, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or soy sauce
• Optional seasonings for tofu: rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger powder, garlic powder, curry powder
• Optional final topping: peanuts, scallions, hoisin sauce or peanut sauce

Drain tofu block and wrap it in a clean towel to dry it. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Place in air frier on 350 degrees for 12 minutes or pan fry until light brown on all sides. Before frying, spray or drizzle with cooking oil and add any combination rice vinegar, ginger powder, garlic powder, sesame oil, curry powder, etc. for flavor. Toss the tofu with seasonings a few times before starting the frier or frying pan. I have made this dish with different seasonings each time, so use what you have from this list and don't feel like you have to have all of the seasonings listed.

Boil water and add the whole egg in the shell. Boil for 7 minutes and then pour out the hot water from the pan and add cold water to stop the egg from becoming hard boiled. The soft yellow yolk will taste better and will add another splash of color to the final dish.

Place ramen blocks in pan and cover with No-Chicken broth or vegetable broth. Boil until flexible, but do not overcook. Remember that ramen noodles will continue to cook a little in the broth and continue to soften some while you are serving them.

While noodles are boiling and tofu is frying, cut up vegetables and add them to the broth and ramen, start with hardest vegetables first and then add them so that the ones that need to cook the least are added last. For example, add onions or mushrooms before thin slices of carrot or cabbage.

Add a small amount of canned coconut milk or cream and some liquid aminos to the broth taste.

Use a fork to gently lift the ramen from the pan and divide among two bowls.

Pour a bit of broth in each bowl and add arrange some of the vegetables in each dish.

Peel the soft boiled egg and carefully slice into two halves. Add the egg slice and several tofu cubes to each bowl. Top with peanuts, scallions, peanut sauce or hoisin sauce.