Ramen is a pretty basic dish on its own (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It’s perfect for late-night snacking and lunchtime noodling, but truth be told it can get boring on its own. Pack it full of veggies and spice and it’s a whole other story.

Six cups of bok choy may seem like a bit much, but trust me it shrinks down in a matter of minutes. The amount of tofu and veggies packed into your bowl will be perfect for the amount of noodles you have, plus it will be filling enough to be a pretty hearty lunch.

Marinating your own tofu is a thousand times better than buying any of those pre-seasoned tofu packages in my opinion because they always end up being sort of mushy on the outside and sweeter than I want. I normally buy the teriyaki one but I’m through with that from now on.

Sidenote: For an extra kick of flavour and spice, add paprika, hot sauce, and chili flakes to the broth while the ramen noodles are cooking.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 4 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. sriracha hot sauce
• 2 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil (plus some for frying veggies)
• 1 tsp. chives, chopped
• 2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 350g package of firm tofu, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 1/4 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 6 cups bok choy, thoroughly washed and stems discarded
• 1 85g packet of vegetarian ramen noodles, cooked as directed on package

Method

Place cubed tofu in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together soy sauce, hot sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil, chives, ginger and garlic. Pour the mixture over the tofu, making sure all of the pieces are at least a little bit covered. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add onion, celery and bell peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften, then take the tofu out of the fridge and pour it into the frying pan (marinade included). Add mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes until tofu gets just slightly golden brown (not crispy) and mushrooms begin to shrink. Add bok choy and turn heat down, stirring occasionally until the bok choy shrinks—about 5 minutes.

Spoon ramen and broth into two separate bowls, and evenly distribute the stir-fry over the top of the noodles. Mix together and enjoy!