Tumeric Spiced Chickpea Ramen

So last week, none of my teams had their usual scheduled dinners.. which meant I was left to figure out how to still eat dinner on top of my typical 14 hour work days plus finishing up finals for grad school. I immediately tried to figure out something quick, easy, affordable, and could last me 4 days.

Ramen was always a go-to during undergrad. Except back then, I just would heat up the noodles and add the seasoning and called it dinner. This time around–call it being older and wiser I suppose?–I wanted to make this into an actual balanced meal. You know, one that has something other than just salt and noodles. So I used what I had on hand (chickpeas will forever be a pantry staple), and ended up with a Ramen bowl 10x better than what I remember from college.

So here is the scoop. I enjoyed this the first night as a soup. But I did not use enough liquid to last the rest of the week, so it ended up being more of a noodle bowl. I suggest adding more broth to the recipe if that is what you prefer!

Tumeric Spiced Chickpea Ramen Bowl:

• 2 tsp sesame oil
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 bok choy, sliced lengthwise
  
• 3/4 cup portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 T rice vinegar
• 2 tsp soy sauce (more to come later)
• 3 – 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp tumeric
  
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• hot sauce or red pepper flakes (optional)
  
• 2 packets ramen
  
• green onions and sesame seeds to top

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and ginger and stir ~1 minute.
2. Once pan is hot, sear bok choy on one side (~1 minute). Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add chickpeas and mushrooms (plus 1 tsp oil if needed). Cover and allow to cook ~5-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Add 2 tsp soy sauce and 1 T rice vinegar and stir 1 more minute.
4. Add vegetable broth, 2 T soy sauce, cumin, paprika, tumeric, and carrots. Bring to simmer for ~4 minutes. Add red pepper flakes or hot sauce if desired.
5. Add ramen noodles and cook until desired tenderness is reached (~2-3 minutes).
6. Transfer amount you want to a bowl (1/4 – 1/3 is about what I did). Add your bok choy, green onions, sesame seeds, and more red pepper flakes if desired and serve warm!
   

PRO TIP: By the last 2 days, as I had mentioned, I no longer had broth to go with this. I heated my bowls up with 1 T Peanut Butter and mixed it in and it turned into a perfect Thai Peanut flavored bowl. 10/10 recommend.