Do you believe in Vegan Ramen ?
When it comes to Ramen, animal-based soups such as pork bones and chicken broth are most common. I was born and raised in Japan, so my diet is far from vegan. It was only after I started living in Europe that I learned more about veganism, and when I came to Amsterdam, I got to try vegan Ramens for the first time.
I have always avoided vegan Ramen because I had a fixed concept of Ramen as an animal-based soup. For me, they seemed a bit tasteless and boring.
One day, I went to a Ramen restaurant in Amsterdam and ordered by mistake a vegan Ramen. I ate it anyway, but I was surprised by how delicious it was. From there, my way of thinking became more flexible, and I can totally enjoy a Ramen that is not animal based.
Today I am going to introduce you to one of my favourite Ramen restaurant, “Ramen impossible“, which serves only a plant-based Ramen.
Locations
Ramen impossible has 2 locations in Amsterdam. One in Jordaan, that is called “Men impossible“, and one near Centraal that is called “Ramen impossible“. The one near Centraal has recently moved from De Pijp. The restaurant in Jordaan offers a course menu with a complete reservation system. I’ve been there several times and every dishes were delicious. To be honest, I couldn’t even tell it was vegan if I did not know.
What kind of Ramens ?
Their most famous piece is their AMAZE MEN, a soup less Ramen. In Japanese, it is called “Mazesoba“. The Ramen comes without a main soup, but instead of it, it has a sauce that you mix and eat. Since there is no soup, it is not hot, so it may be good for summer days ! But of course it’s delicious to eat anytime.
Their AMAZE MEN is in a thick creamy sauce and burnt leek flavoured oil. It features cauliflower tempura as garnish on the top. There is no persistent taste of animal fat at all, and it is easy to eat even though it is rich. The noodles are homemade and have a nice and pleasant texture. The flat, thick noodles are easy to mix with the sauce and are very filling.
They also have Ramens with soup called “TOSA RAMEN”.
TOSA RAMEN is a miso-based Ramen. Same as for the AMAZE MEN, there is some leak oil on top. It comes with a yuba cutlet on the side. This is really delicious. Yuba is a film that forms on the surface of soy milk when heated, and is called also “Tofu skin”. It’s delicious and nutritious, and it’s recently often used in vegan dishes. Not to mention the taste of miso, the base soup is a good balance between other different flavours which makes you wonder what ingredients were used. I think that miso Ramen is usually delicious if you use good miso, but this one really has a taste that makes you want to eat it again and again.
The noodles are homemade, straight and thin with a good texture.
