Ramen is a Japanese meal in a bowl. It’s surprisingly quick and easy to make and has a refreshing yet earthy flavour. You can buy miso paste in most supermarkets as well as delis. After opening, it can be stored for several weeks in the refrigerator. Just add a spoonful (6kcals per teaspoon) to some hot Cambridge Weight Plan Golden Vegetable Drink for an intensely flavoured uplift during the day.
Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 12-15 minutes Calories: 400kcals Steps: 3 and 4
Ingredients
200g egg noodles (dry weight) Spray oil 400g shiitake or mixed oriental mushrooms, sliced or left whole 1 large carrot, cut into thin matchsticks 2.5cm fresh root ginger, peeled and shredded 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 litre hot beef stock or Cambridge Weight Plan Golden Vegetable Drink 2 tbsp white or brown miso paste 1 tbsp soy sauce 200g pak choi, trimmed and sliced 1 small bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced 400g rump or sirloin steak (all visible fat removed), cut into thin strips Juice of 1 lime ¼ Chinese cabbage, cut into 4 chunks Coriander (cilantro) leaves and chopped chilli (optional) to garnish
Directions
1. Cook the noodles according to the pack instructions, then drain well.
2. Meanwhile, lightly spray a large saucepan with oil and place on a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and carrot to the hot pan and cook briskly, stirring occasionally, for 3–4 minutes until just tender. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the hot stock and stir in the miso paste and soy sauce. Simmer for 2–3 minutes and stir in the pak choi and spring onions. Cook gently for 2 minutes – just long enough to wilt the pak choi without it losing its lovely fresh green colour. Add the lime juice and whole chunks of Chinese cabbage.
4. While the soup is cooking, grill the steak strips in a lightly oiled griddle pan for 3–5 minutes until browned and cooked to your liking.
5. Divide the cooked noodles between 4 shallow bowls and pour the hot stock and vegetables over them. Arrange the beef strips on top and garnish with the coriander and chilli (if using).
Variations
Use 400g sliced or cubed chicken breast instead of steak. Cook it with the vegetables until golden brown all over. Add hot chicken stock and then cook as directed above. The calories will stay the same but the fat grams per serving will be less (4.5g fat).
Instead of regular soy sauce, use Tamari (a gluten-free Japanese soy sauce) or mirin (a sweet rice wine). The calories will stay the same.
Step it up…
To eat this for dinner on Step 5 just add 200g trimmed mangetout with the pak choi and use 500g lean steak and 250g egg noodles. This will add 1.5g fat and 1g fibre per serving.