Instant Ramen Is the Perfect Way to Use What You Have

For me, cooking is most often improvisation — ‘fancy cheap ramen’ is a great place to start

Summer Anne Burton
Published in
4 min readAug 18, 2020

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vegetable ramen noodle bowl with chickpeas, blackened mushrooms, and noodles peeking out from the broth
Photos: Summer Anne Burton

I have a small shame: even though I write, read, and edit vegan recipes (among other things!) professionally, I am extremely terrible at following them. Other than occasional recipe testing for this magazine you are reading right now, it’s hard for me to remember the last time I chose to cook directly from a recipe without making alterations (excluding baking, for which recipe following is a must unless you’re an expert).

I sometimes start with a recipe, but always find myself adding here and deleting there, mushrooms are just as good here as tofu, right? More often, I cook starting with an idea, or a set of ingredients, especially if I have any produce that’s about to pass its peak. There are so many ways to use what you have on hand, from tacos to toast, but one of my absolute favorites and most versatile ways to clear out your crisper is with fancy-cheap ramen.

a package of koyo brand shiitake mushroom ramen being held up

This is not a recipe, but merely a suggestion: making a “fancy” version of instant ramen is a delicious, adaptable way to…

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Tenderly
Tenderly

Published in Tenderly

A vegan magazine that’s hopefully devoted to delicious plants, liberated animals, and leading a radical, sustainable, joyful life

Summer Anne Burton
Summer Anne Burton

Written by Summer Anne Burton

Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tenderly. Former BuzzFeed exec. Moomin. Texan. Vegan for the animals. 💕

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