Creamy, yet Vegan? A Mushroom Ramen Dream

6 people. 2 pots of ramen. Not sure how many bottles.

Last night was one of those perfect Friday nights when people unite and sympathise over Champagne (happy 5 months Ella Adeline!), wine bottles and a warm meal to complain about their work week- and I actively listen in a compassionate manner because I cannot relate as I got the year off to play with our baby- at home. I was, however, up at 1 and 6 with her and the red wine did not help out- I am writing this rather dishevelled. It was still adorable and I wouldn't change a thing. Also, am I the only one who loves to clean up a kitchen after a long social evening? I swear it makes me so happy to rinse those flutes and Lysol-wipe those marble surfaces. No amount of fatigue can change that. Moving on. No wait, Lysol, sponsor me?

I knew we would be around 6 so I made sure to:

a) make it a mostly vegetarian meal (you can't go wrong with serving vegetables and starch they are crowd favourites) and,

b) dairy-free (out of 6 people there's bound to be one who hates or cannot tolerate dairy products).

Moreover, since I make ramen or Pho dishes roughly 2-3 times a week and each of my friends has tasted about 9 versions of each, I figured I should find something new and run with it. Kidding, I won't pretend it's mine, I got the recipe from 'Budget Bytes' and I altered it to feed 6 people while adding a bunch of spices and oils because it's not my recipe if that part is not a little out of control- and that's what makes it magical.

So prepare your pots and chopsticks, here we go.

You will need,

Sesame seeds (white-black, 3 tbsp)

Spinach (handfuls, they shrink tons so go nuts)

Coconut milk (2 cans)

Ramen (5 packages, discard their sad little sodium-filled spice bags)

Mushroom (1 package, I chose the 'petits gourmets' French mushrooms)

Garlic (8 cloves- 4 in each pot)

Vegetable or chicken broth (4-6 cups in each pot, observe as you go and see if you need more or less)

Fish sauce (2 tbsp)

Sesame oil (6 tbsp)

Soy sauce (2 tbsp)

Ground ginger (2 tbsp)

Scallions (5)

Champagne (a lot)

*Again, keep in mind I cooked for six people, so the coconut milk for 1-2 servings would be 1/2 cup and not 2 full cans- and that everything here was split between two pots

A few simple steps,

1. Wash and chop the mushrooms and throw in a large pot over medium-heat, combined with the garlic, scallions, sesame oil and salt

2. Stir for 5-6 minutes

3. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes, whilst adding the soy sauce, fish sauce and ginger

4. Add noodles and stir for another 3 minutes

5. Add spinach and let the leaves wilt by stirring, it takes about 30 seconds

6. Add the coconut milk and the sesame seeds, blend and you are ready to serve

Cheers to another good week, and a nice meal among loved ones. All you need right there!

Hope this gave you an idea of what to serve at your next dinner party, a one-pot meal makes it very easy to enjoy your evening without being preoccupied with serving the next course or cleaning a lot of dishes- I always do the cooking part over wine while my friends have arrived, that way it is served within minutes and steaming hot!