ramyaramesh3007This Vegan Ban Mian is a simple noodle dish, engulfed in a fragrant mushroom broth and topped with shitake mushrooms, greens, plant based mince with a dollop of chili oil.
Ban Mian is a popular Chinese noodle dish in Singapore and stalls specialising in good Ban Mian are characterised by snaking queues. They consist of handmade noodles served with a comforting and fragrant broth – they are flat and thin making it a fun experience slurping them while eating (if you don’t find that annoying!)
The name banmian (board/block noodle) came from the Hakka method of cutting the noodle into straight shapes using a wooden block as a ruler! In Hokkien, it was called Mee-Hoon-Kueh which is also a popular soup dish in Singapore and the noodles a short but thick and chewy. I only had tried them recently with a suggestion by my friend and they were so so good! Now I have them every time I visit Fortune Centre (which is vegetarian haven in Singapore!)
Traditionally, the noodles have egg in them and they are served in a broth flavoured with vegetables and often, meat. They are topped with leafy vegetables, minced pork and dried anchovies. This vegan version however, is a very similar version but most of the umaminess comes from mushrooms!
There is also a dry version of this: Chili Pan Mee that was invented in Kuala Lumpur. This version is served with similar ingredients except it is dry and is tossed with a chili paste and is served with a dollop of sambal.
What Do I Need?
- textured vegetable protein or any plant-based mince (OMNI Foods or Meat Zero are great options!)
- sesame oil – this is a pantry staple and it adds so much flavour to many asian dishes!
- shaoxing wine – you can sub this with rice wine vinegar or regular vinegar.
- white pepper – this is also key to this dish, it varies slightly from black pepper.
- garlic – sub with hing if you don’t take garlic
- kombu dashi & mushroom seasoning – to add umaminess, you can add either or both!
- shitake mushrooms – strongest in terms of elevating the broth flavour
- ban mian noodles – these might be hard to source but the best place to look for them would be asian supermarkets! If not you can easily substitute them with ramen, udon or rice noodles!
Gluten free substitution: Swap out soy sauce for tamari or gluten free soy sauce.
Allium free substitution: Swap out garlic for hing.
Easy Vegan Ban Mian
Ingredients
Mince
- 1/2 cup TVP or 1 packet of plant based mince
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sweetener
- 2 tsp corn starch (optional)
Mushroom Broth
- 4 cups water
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 tsp kombu dashi
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 4-5 shitake mushrooms fresh or dried
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
To serve
- bunch bok choy or leafy greens
- chili oil or sambal
Instructions
- Add sesame oil to a wok or pan. Saute your plant based mince or soaked TVP for a minute. Add all the other ingredients, including corn starch and saute until fully cooked and crispy. Set aside.
- In that same pan, add water, garlic, shitake mushrooms, kombu dashi, mushroom seasoning, soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- As it's simmering, boil your noodles of choice according to package instructions. My dried Ban Mian took about 3 minutes to cook!
- Blanch your greens in the mushroom broth for a minute and take them out.
- Serve noodles in a bowl, pour over the broth and garnish with sliced shitake mushrooms, greens, fried mince and chili oil.