Shrimp Ramen Soup

This probably isn't 100% authentic as I believe traditional ramen soup is made from pork stock - but it tastes pretty darn good.  I also went overboard on the vegetables, so it is quite thick, almost a stew.  But, that's the way I like it.

Then rent or netflix The Ramen Girl

Ingredients

• 8 cups chicken stock (preferably salt free)
• 1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 Tbl miso paste
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• ½ Tbl grated ginger
• 3 large carrots julienned
• ½ large onion thinly sliced 
• 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
• 8 oz mushrooms thinly sliced
• ½ head napa cabbage thinly sliced
• 2 packages ramen soup noodles (minus flavor packets)

Equipment

• Pot large enough to hold everything.  The 8 cups stock should fill less than ½ the pot
• Julienne cutter

Directions

• Heat stock in a large pot.
• Add onion, carrot, and bell pepper and cook for about 20 minutes
• Add mushrooms and napa cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes
• Add shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes until pink in color
• add ramen noodles and cook for 2 minutes.  Be sure to break noodles apart
• Serve in bowls with japanese soup spoons

  Notes

1. I used some homemade chicken stock from the freezer.  I do not add any salt when making my own stock as I feel it's best to season whatever is being made from the stock.  The miso paste will add some salt. If you feel it needs a bit more salt then add a bit more miso paste or, perhaps, some fish sauce.  If you use commercial chicken stock then be sure to use the low sodium variety and then add the miso paste to taste.
2. Just throw the flavor packets from the ramen soup away - they are mostly salt and not of much use for anything else.
3. If you don't have a julienne cutter cutter then thinly slice the carrot as I think grating it would make it too small and it would get mushy in the soup.  Then add a julienne cutter to your christmas list :)
4. Thinly sliced chicken or pork would also work well.  I'm not so sure about beef - but I suppose it could work too.
5. Snow peas or sugar peas would also work