Tomato Ramen with Roasted Eggplant

A flavorful ramen comprised of a simple tomato soup base. Dressed with cooked ramen noodles, roasted eggplant, and chopped spinach.  Garnish with fresh bean sprouts, sliced green onions, red pepper flakes, fried onion bits, tempura bits, ginger, chili-garlic sauce, or your favorite ramen toppings.

It’s been a while since I have been able to focus on posting recipes. To say I’ve been busy is an understatement. In fact, we recently sold our house, changed jobs, and moved across the world. To a place I’ve always wanted to explore – the beautiful country of Japan.

While here, I’m excited to try new things and replicate them whenever I can. I’m already starting to get a list of incredible dishes and treats. It’s a tasty list, and I’m really looking forward to the culinary journey.

The first dish I am sharing was inspired by a dish in a little ramen place we stumbled upon in Nagasaki. We ordered the tomato ramen with extra eggplant and spinach from the ramen ticket vending machine upon entry. After giving our ticket to the chef, we sat down at a little table and waited. When we received our ramen, it was absolutely gorgeous. The fragrant roasted eggplant was certainly the highlight of the dish.

My husband excitedly tried to find tomato ramen recipes online. We only found two, and they were nothing close to what we enjoyed at the best-kept secret in Nagasaki. So, I started with my Tomato Basil Soup recipe, adding in all of the major components we remembered – ramen, roasted eggplant, fresh spinach, and bean sprouts. Then, I tweaked it a bit.

As with most dishes, you should absolutely tailor this recipe to your own taste. If you like more garlic, add in more. Better yet, add in some minced raw garlic when serving! If you like things a bit spicy, add in more chili paste or cayenne to the soup base, or sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes on top. Add more salt and pepper if you prefer your soup on the saltier side.

Honestly, this is my favorite part about cooking. Playing with recipes until you get them just right.

And honestly, this Tomato Ramen with Roasted Eggplant is more than just right. I think it’s perfectly delicious. And absolutely gorgeous.

To make this Tomato Ramen with Roasted Eggplant, you’ll need four primary components – the tomato soup base, the roasted eggplant, ramen, and your choice of toppings.

As I mentioned previously, I created the tomato soup base by tweaking my Tomato Basil Soup recipe. Consider this some awesome Asian-Italian fusion. It may not sound like it would work, but it truly does.

Start by sautéing finely diced carrots and onion, then add in crushed tomatoes, Umami Vegetable Broth, rice wine vinegar, dried basil, gochujang, maple syrup, miso, and nutritional yeast. Let that simmer on low heat to allow all of the flavors to come together.

While the soup base is simmering, prep and roast your eggplant. Cut the eggplant into large cubes or wedges. And don’t fret – there is no need to peel the eggplant. In fact, I believe the peel helps retain the shape of the eggplant and prevents it from becoming too soft or mushy.

The dark purple peel also provides a striking and contrasting color to this dish.

Toss the cubed eggplant into a little avocado oil until evenly coated.  Then grill it, cook it in an air fryer, roast it in an oven, or sauté it in a skillet. Just so we’re all clear, the grill maximizes all of the aroma, smokiness, and tasty grilled flavor you want. If you have a grill, this is definitely the best flavor option. I already told you that the eggplant is the best star of this dish.

If you aren’t able to grill like me right now, that is okay. Any of these listed methods will work well.

The key is to “char” parts of the eggplant. The eggplant should be blackened and caramelized in spots, and tender inside. I know I’ve stated this a couple of times already, but it really is the best part of this Tomato Ramen. And it’s this browning or charring that makes it taste incredible. The flavors of the tomato soup and roasted eggplant mingle and meld so nicely together.

Third, is the ramen. You can use just about any kind of ramen you have on hand or can find in the store. I purchased some fresh ramen at my local market. If you only have access to one of those convenience packs of dry ramen, that works very well, too.

If you follow a gluten-free diet, there are loads of options available today. For example, Lotis makes a great rice and millet ramen that we enjoy. I use it a lot actually. But now that I live in Japan, I’m taking advantage of the fresh ramen at the local market. Use whatever you have on hand.

Prepare your ramen according to the instructions on your package. But please do not use the ramen seasoning packet that comes with the ramen in the package. You simply don’t need it in this recipe.

This Tomato Ramen with Roasted Eggplant contains few seasonings because this isn’t your typical ramen broth. For one thing, the seasoning packet contains a ridiculous amount of salt and other unnecessary ingredients.

For another, it is a completely different flavor profile than what we are aiming for. We’re using some dried basil, miso, gochujang (or red chili paste), vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Feel free to use more or less of a particular seasoning. This is your Tomato Ramen after all.

And finally, the last component is the toppings. Freshly chopped spinach pairs very nicely with this Tomato Ramen with Roasted Eggplant. It’s a must. Not only does the vibrant green color look incredible on the red tomato soup broth base and dark roasted eggplant, the spinach also adds loads of nutritional value and flavor.

You can also sprinkle in some bean sprouts, green onions, red pepper flakes, pickled ginger, fried onion bits, tempura bits, minced fresh garlic, etc. All are also excellent choices and quite delicious. Add anything you like with your ramen.

One note about the tomato soup base. I highly recommend you use a stick immersion blender or blender to blend the soup until it is mostly smooth. I usually prefer to see my bits of carrot, onion, garlic, and tomatoes. But since this soup base is poured over ramen like a smooth and savory broth, it should be mostly smooth.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, work in small batches to carefully pour and process the soup base until it is mostly smooth.

Now that you have all the components ready to go, it’s time to serve yourself a delicious bowl of Tomato Ramen with Roasted Eggplant.

This is nothing like you imagine and everything you hope for all at once. I absolutely love the way this dish comes together! It truly is a fantastic Japanese-Italian fusion.

To serve, divide portions of the ramen among four large soup bowls. Ladle the tomato soup broth over the ramen.  Dress with the roasted eggplant, chopped spinach, bean sprouts, sliced green onions, and fried onion bits, as desired.  Now grab your chopsticks and a chirirenge (spoon)!

Itadakimasu!

One last note. If you do have any leftovers, store any remaining tomato soup broth, roasted eggplant, and toppings separately in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat the soup broth, ramen, and eggplant. Then follow the process as described herein.

I hope you enjoy this Tomato Ramen with Roasted Eggplant as much as I do.

I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!

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Ingredients

• ½ onion, finely diced
• ½ carrot, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1½ pounds medium eggplant, cut in large cubes or wedges*
• 1-2 tsp Avocado oil
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups Umami Vegetable Broth
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp gochujang (or red chili paste)**
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup or agave
• 1 Tbsp white (mild) miso
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste (optional)
• 12 ounces ramen noodles***
• handful of fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• fresh bean sprouts, sliced green onions, red pepper flakes, fried onion bits, chili-garlic sauce, or your favorite ramen toppings.

Instructions

1. Make the tomato soup base. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, carrot, and garlic over medium to medium-low heat until softened, about 10-12 minutes.  Add broth or avocado oil, if needed, to prevent from sticking.
2. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, rice wine vinegar, dried basil, gochujang, and maple syrup.  Bring to a low boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Stir the miso and nutritional yeast into the tomato soup base.  Taste and adjust seasonings to taste, including salt and ground black pepper.
4. Use an immersion blender or blender to puree the soup base smooth, if desired.

1. Meanwhile, roast the Eggplant. Cut the eggplant into large cubes or wedges.  Toss the eggplant in the avocado oil until evenly coated.
   • Grill Option: grill eggplant over medium-high heat until slightly charred on the surface. Rotate and continue grilling until the eggplant is soft inside, about 10-15 minutes.
   • Air Fryer or Oven Option: place eggplant in a single layer cut edge facing up.  Cook at 450° F until slightly charred on the surface, about 15 minutes. Rotate and continue cooking until charred and tender inside, about 5-10 minutes more. This will depend on how big or small your eggplant is cut.
   • Skillet Option: place eggplant in a single layer in the skillet over medium-high heat and cook until slightly charred on the surface. Rotate and continue cooking until tender inside.

1. Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook the ramen according to the package instructions. If your ramen came with a seasoning packet, do not use it in this recipe.
2. Serve. Divide the cooked ramen into individual bowls.  Ladle the tomato soup broth over.  Dress with roasted eggplant, chopped spinach, sliced green onions, and bean sprouts, as desired.  Enjoy!
3. Leftovers. Store any remaining tomato soup broth and eggplant separately in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

* This is a fairly mild ramen.  Omit the gochujang or red chili sauce if you don’t like any spice.  If you’d like more, add more.  Start with 2 teaspoons, you can always add more.

** I do not peel the eggplant.  The peel helps retain the shape of the eggplant and prevents it from being mushy.

*** Do not use the ramen seasoning packet.  If your ramen package includes a seasoning packet, do not use it.  It is not needed in this recipe. If you must, add some of the seasoning packet to the tomato soup broth, but only after tasting it first.