This week I’m going to skip the meals for the week and focus on one recipe. Last summer i was craving a bowl of Japanese Ramen. So my mind got to work on a paleo friendly version of it. What I came up with is Zucchini Ramen. I use zucchini cut into strips as my noodles. Zucchini is pretty mild in flavor and does a great job of absorbing flavors.
First we need to start with boiling some water and making a broth. This time I’m using store bought chicken bouillon cubes. Usually I prefer my homemade bullion cubes but I’m out at the moment. While the broth is coming up to temperature Let’s move onto the zucchini.
I could not find and decent sized zucchini, so two smaller ones will have to work. Depending on how much work you feel like doing depends on how long this process will take. This time I first removed the green skin from them.
Once all peeled I chop off both ends from them. And quarter them lengthwise.
Then I start the process of cutting them into flat noodles. With zucchini noodles you don’t want to cut them too thin or they don’t hold up well when cooking.
I heated up a skillet with some sesame seed oil to capture an Asian Flavor. To the pan I added some onions and celery. Once they were soft and translucent I threw in the zucchini.
To the zucchini I add some pepper and Temari (gluten free soy sauce) cook till just soft. If you were planning on eating the Ramen right away you would set aside as this point.
While I was sauteing the zucchini I put in an egg to boil it in the broth. This way I am using water Im boiling anyway.
Normally I use chicken in my Ramen but I had some Brats I needed to cook. Which I sure have never been in a Ramen before but I like to think outside the box. First I brown the brats on both sides in a little olive oil. Then I took them out and let them sit for a few minutes.
After they had cooled down a bit I cut them into bite size pieces and added them to the Ramen to finish cooking.
After letting the ramen boil for a bit I tried the broth to see how it tasted. At this point I added some cayenne pepper, fresh ground pepper, and garlic. And I can say that the bratwurst added a whole new level of deliciousness. It was amazing.
The finished Ramen is paleo friendly and deliciousness. Well worth the prep time. Way better than anything you will get in a store and up there with what you can get in a good Japanese restaurant. Give Zucchini Ramen a try and you wont regret it.
This looks awesome, thank you!