Ramen, also known as “pulled noodles” is a Japanese dish. Many regions of Japan have their own variation of this dish. While it is commonly prepared with a fish or meat based broth, I chose to experiment with vegetable broth to make the Easy Gluten-Free Ramen. This dish can be flavored with miso or soy sauce and topped with a variety of ingredients such as mushrooms, nori (seaweed), scallions, pork, eggs, bok choy, or tofu.

Ramen noodles are traditionally Chinese wheat noodles, but for this recipe

I used Lotus Foods organic forbidden rice ramen, a gluten free alternative.

The Lotus Foods Ramen come in a variety of options from purple potato and brown rice ramen to jade pearl rice ramen. The forbidden rice ramen has great texture and held up really well even a day after cooking.

Half a cake of the forbidden rice ramen has 130 calories, 1.5 g fat, 27 g carbohydrates, <1 g fiber, 3 g protein, and 2% of your daily value for iron. The ingredients are quite simple as it is made from organic black (forbidden) rice flour, organic brown rice flour, and organic white rice flour.

To Make Easy Gluten-Free Ramen

Start off by heating oil on medium-high heat in a large heavy stock pot. Add onion, ginger, mushrooms, and garlic and sauté for 5-8 minutes. When the onion becomes translucent, pour 1 cup of broth into the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release the flavors and add depth to your broth.

Add the remaining 5-8 cups of broth, tamari (or soy sauce) and stir. Bring the broth to simmer over medium heat then reduce to low and cover. Let the broth simmer for at least an hour, up to 3 hours covered. The longer you simmer the broth the more flavor will be released.

After 1 hour, taste the broth and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Add more tamari (gluten-free alternative to soy sauce), ginger, or a dash of toasted sesame seed oil to add depth to the flavor.

When you are 30 minutes from serving the dish, prepare any desired toppings for your soup such as seared tofu, sliced pork, soft boiled eggs, seared bok choy, roasted broccolini, etc.

Prepare your noodles in a separate pot according to the directions. Rinse throughly before adding to your soup.

Take the broth off the heat and whisk the miso into the broth. NOTE! Be sure the broth is no longer boiling as high heat will kill the beneficial bacteria of the miso and negate any of the beneficial probiotic effects!

Add your prepared ramen to the both and top with your desired toppings. Try fresh ingredients like scallions, thinly shaved carrots, mung bean sprouts, and toasted sesame oil to finish off the Easy Gluten-Free Ramen.

Want a Quick Meal?

Prepare your broth and toppings a head of time. In a pot, bring the broth to a boil. Add the ramen noodles to the broth (yes! to the broth, we are just using one pot this time!) and remove from the heat. Let the ramen noodles slowly unfold. Once the noodles are close to your desired doneness, add a few ice cubes to your soup to help cool it off and stop the noodles from cooking. Top the Easy Gluten-Free Ramen with your desired ingredients and enjoy!

Your broth is best enjoyed fresh but can be stored in your fridge for up to 5 days. Store in a freezer safe container for up to 1 month.