It's predominately red and black pepper, mushroom, ginger, and some garlic. Some folks claim it's still too spicy, but I use half the packet to cut back on the sodium and it still tastes fine for me. Four and a half stars and 3,000+ reviews on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/NongShim-Soon-Noodle-Veggie-Ounce/dp/B00PYS5F3A
For some reason all of the vegan ones are so expensive on Amazon :/
I ate pretty shitty in the dorms, but when I stressed I used to go to H-Mart and buy a brand of ramen called "Nongshim Soon Ramen" It's unhealthy but one of the few ramens that are completely vegetarian but actually taste like good, cheap ramen haha. It's also vegan too.
sorry for the late reply but- they’re actually just instant noodles! either way, they’re still really tasty and have a nice spice to them. i found these at an asian supermarket but you can find them here on amazon. i’d recommend adding bok choy along with the mushrooms. :)
Yeah, like Faded said, Koreans make some bomb noodles. This pack off of Amazon is my favorite. I stocked up on them before the pandemic for sure. Would recommend them when they get back down to their normal $11 price.
Will try Kabuto noodles if I ever see them in California. Super expensive on Amazon.
Nongshim all the way. I like the veggie ones. There are lots of other brands, but almost anything nongshim consistently blows easily found ramen like Top Ramen, and Maruchan out of the water for just a tiny bit more money.
When I am going all out I add the following items: egg, bamboo shoots in chili oil, and If I have it on hand, a little dried seaweed like furikake. Depending on flavor of the soup I also add a little rice vinegar, fish sauce, and white pepper.
Ok first off, hit up an Indian/Asian grocery store if you have one near you. You can buy all the spices, lentils, rice, veggies etc there and it will be way cheaper with better selection.
Spices you will need: coriander (powder), cumin (seeds), red chili pepper (powder, buy an Indian brand, stuff you find at Walmart is not the same), turmeric (powder), garam masala (powder, if you get into Indian you should make your own). Those are the basics and are in almost every curry I cook. Other spices like like mustard seeds, cinnamen sticks, cloves, kasoori methi, cardomen, etc are in tons of dishes but hold off on them until you know you like to cook Indian.
recipes:
Chole Palak, Chickpeas With Spinach - asafetida can be substitute with a few garlic cloves. I like to make a bunch of ginger-garlic paste (just blend equal parts ginger and garlic) and freeze it in a glass container and microwave when I need to use some.
Chola Chana Masala, Spicy Chickpeas Besan isn't needed, just a thickener. For the ginger paste I just use the ginger-garlic paste. Adding one or two lemon/lime really at the end really elevates the dish
Gobi Masallum - Whole Cauliflower Roasted in a Spiced Sauce I substitute cashews for peanuts and don't soak them (cheaper) and ghee for regular veggie oil. The kasoori methi will give it (and your kitchen) that "Indian restaurant" smell but it's not required if you can't find it.
Tadka Urad Dal I chose this one but check out any of her dal recipes. All are really simple. I like to add onions+ginger-garlic paste to mine. Lentil soup is in general very forgiving. As long as you have the salty+spicy+sour balance it will taste good. Experiment with it.
I also like vegan recipes from Seriouseats but they are bit more time consuming. Good recipes are Banh Mi, Vegan Ramen, falafel, hummus, baba ganoush. Can't really go wrong with that site.
When you're feeling lazy I like this vegan instant Ramen Add sesame oil + green onions + tofu and you have a full meal. Top Ramen and Maruchan have a Chili flavor that is vegan but it's not as good (cheaper though).
Equipment: only extra thing you might want is a pressure cooker for beans. It makes cooking beans a lot faster and buy them in dry bulk to save money. I have an instapot and it's nice. It's electric so I can just press a button and go on reddit until they're done. Stove top ones are cheaper but you have to pay a little more attention so they don't explode over your kitchen.
Ok so that's a good set up I think. Let me know if you have questions. Going vegan can be tough at first but if you can get a few Indian dishes down it will make it so much easier and you'll save money. Good luck!
NongShim Soon Veggie is vegan and tasty. Here's an Amazon link. Add some blanched bok choi, sauteed mushrooms (shitake, oyster, enoki), bean sprouts, green onion and some corn. Since you're ok with fish, add some sliced kamaboko or surimi(krab) on top. Finish it off with a splash of la-yu (spicy sesame oil) and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Nom.
https://www.amazon.com/NongShim-Soon-Noodle-Veggie-Ounce/dp/B00PYS5F3A?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Actual product link in case you are hungry and want some noodles like me last night...
NongShim Soon vegan ramen is my favorite!
https://www.amazon.com/NongShim-Soon-Noodle-Veggie-Ounce/dp/B00PYS5F3A/
They also have two cup noodles version of them along with a kimchi version but the packet like the one I show you is not vegan only the cup one fyi!!
edit: edit no guess work here the two
https://www.amazon.com/NongShim-Soon-Noodle-Veggie-Ounce/dp/B00VN76FB2
https://www.amazon.com/Nongshim-Kimchi-Cup-Ounce-Pack/dp/B074D1Q7QF/
I really like it! I always get it from Amazon, but be aware this pack of 10 should only be like $10. The prices have been all over the place for the last few months.
Nongshim Soon Veggie Ramen is seriously so good.
I buy it by the case on amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PYS5F3A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1