Recipe: Amped up TopRamen

This is an excellent example of a cheap, quick, filling meal for one (I make it all the time).  In this recipe I use ginger paste, which is a staple of my diet and has so many wonderful uses (and keeps longer than fresh ginger).  To make it super cheap, skip the ginger paste and use frozen broccoli or green beans in place of fresh veggies.  If you are looking for a lower sodium option, you can use half a ramen flavor packet.

Amped up TopRamen

• 1 package top ramen (soy sauce flavor to keep it vegan)
• a handful or two of whatever veggies you have, chopped, I usually use broccoli and mushrooms
• 1 serving (marked on package, usually 1/5 of a block) tofu, firm or extra firm
• Ginger paste
• Sriracha 

boil three cups of water for soup.  in the meantime, slice tofu into about 2 inch squares, 1/2 inch thick. heat 1tbsp oil in a pan on medium (I would use coconut or vegetable oil over olive). Sauté your veggies and put them in a big soup bowl.  

Add more oil to the pan, then put tofu in, add some sriracha and cook 3 min on each side (i recommend putting a top on this, the sriracha splatters).  Add to your bowl.

When boiling, put noodles in the water, followed by the ramen flavor packet.  Add sriracha and ginger paste to taste.  Turn off the heat and pour the whole pot into your bowl on top of the veggies and tofu. 

Other variations:  sometimes i replace the sriracha, flavor packet, and ginger with a mixture of lite coconut milk and Thai curry paste.  If you do so, I recommend you the noodles separately.

Other topping ideas can include green onions, seaweed, lime, and cilantro.