When you think of Japanese ramen (noodle soup) you think of a rich broth with deep, meaty flavors, a soft-boiled egg and a thick slab of tender pork. Chef Atsushi Ishida turned that idea upside down and recently opened a vegan ramen restaurant in the center of Amsterdam. The Ramen restaurant is called Men Impossible.
Vegan Ramen Amsterdam
Atsushi is a man with a mission: He wants to help the world. The chef believes that it would be better for our planet if we all eat vegan more often. Less meat and more plants. We totally agree with him! Atushi does not eat vegan all the time, so he also eats meat. In order to get non-vegans to get used to the idea of eating vegetable more often, he shows that popular and tasty dishes with a lots of flavor can also be made 100% vegetable-based. In our other blog we explain how you can cook you own vegan noodles
Sustainable Food
So he decided to try this with the world’s beloved ramen (noodle soup). He thought: ‘Making tasty vegan ramen, won’t this be a mission impossible?’. Therefore, he called his restaurant Mission Impossible. The biggest difference between the vegan ramen and non-vegan variant is that the vegan variant costs a lot of time to prepare. So time is his most important ingredient.
Since he thinks sustainability is important, he strives to use only organic ingredients from Europe. He also wants to prevent food waste, which means he chooses to work only with reservations in his restaurant. There is space for a maximum of 19 guests per day. Because of this the chef knows exactly what he has to buy and prepare, so he won’t waste any food.
Fresh, handmade vegan Noodles
Important to mention is that the restaurant serves tsukemen: A variant of ramen where they serve the soup and noodles seperately. So you can dip the noodles in the soup.
The menu on the table makes it possible to customize your vegan ramen. You can choose the soup for your noodles (tomato, mushroom or a specialty of the season) and for an additional € 2.50 you can even choose two soups. In addition, you can add ‘color’ to your ramen with beet juice, black garlic oil or red chili oil. It is recommended that you add it to the soup halfway through the meal, for a different taste experience.
You can also choose to have your noodles served hot or cold, but Atsushi recommends the cold version. He makes the noodles every day from spelled flour. After he has cut them by hand, he squeezes the noodles to give them a twisted texture. This ensures that the noodles still have a bite when you eat them. The mix of cold noodles with hot soup gives a nice feeling in your mouth, Atsushi knows how to prepare tasty food.
Eat your Vegan Ramen
As for us, we received vegan yakitori that was made of lentils, cabbage, carrot, onion and buckwheat. In addition, we also received some sweet and sour cucumber. We went for the spicy tomato soup and the mushroom soup with our tsukemen. The mushroom variant contains a lot of umami and is therefore full, rich and comforting. The spicy tomato is tasty too: Tasty and spicy, but not too much. It is also nice that the slices of zucchini and the mushrooms are well baked
At Men Impossible
Men Impossible is in a nice street in the city centre of Amsterdam. You eat at one long table, with a view of the open kitchen where Atsushi cooks. You can book for different times, but there is maximum place for 19 eaters in one evening.
A menu costs you € 25, – euro. For this you get a cold appetizer, a warm appetizer, the famous ‘impossible ramen’ and a cup of tea. Sounds great!
Adress: Hazenstraat 19H, 1016 SM Amsterdam
Other Great Vegan Places and Recipes:
