Cheap and Easy Vegan Spicy Rice

Groceries are expensive right now so letting something go to waste is not my Method of Operation. I don’t use the sauce or flavor packets supplied in most pre packaged convenience foods. I like to make my own broths and sauces, but I always use the provided packets in something else so I save them for future use. Soy sauce flavor of Top Ramen is accidentally vegan, but what to do with the packet? My favorite thing to do is make this rice.

Sometimes I make this for a quick snack but you can easily turn this into a meal by adding protein and vegetables. I like to use broccoli. I will either roast them in the oven or air fryer. I toss the pieces in a bowl with some sesame oil, salt and garlic powder. I put them on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about ten minutes or so just until the pieces are heated through and the edges just begin to brown.

The tofu I like to add in is usually pan fried or baked. There are blog posts on this website for instructions on how to do that if you need them. I usually bake one or two blocks of tofu when I do meal prep for the week that way I have it on hand for easy protein to add to meals throughout the week.

This rice is freezable as well so you can portion it out for use throughout the week.

If you don’t want rice you can use your leftover ramen flavor packets to flavor potatoes when you boil them. I would cut the potatoes into bite size pieces and add the flavor packet to the water you boil them in. You want the water to be able to cover the potatoes but just barely. Potatoes don’t need to be boiled in deep water like pasta.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 cup of uncooked rice

• 1-1/2 cups or 2 cups of water [2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice yields a softer rice result. I use 1-1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice]

• 1 seasoning packet from soy sauce flavored ramen

• 1 teaspoon of chili crisp or other hot sauce [use more or less or none at all. This is up to you]

  Add the water to a rice cooker or sauce pan with a lid. Mix in the ramen seasoning packet. Sometimes I add a little splash of soy sauce to intensify the soy sauce flavor. Dump in the rice and turn on the rice cooker or bring the sauce pan to a boil.

  If you are using a rice cooker just walk away and come back later, but if you are using the sauce pan method bring everything to a boil then drop the heat down to an active simmer for 1 minute then turn off the heat entirely and let it sit there with the lid on for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes the rice should have absorbed all of the water.

  Stir the chili crisp or hot sauce into the cooked rice. I use a stirring and soft chopping motion to get the chili crisp to evenly distribute throughout the rice and break up any clumps of rice that might still be there.