If you aren’t satisfied with just taking a break from alcohol this month, you may well have decided to ditch the meat, too. Perhaps it is for health reasons, or because you think a month off dead animals might make a small, if tokenistic, difference to global warming. You may have been influenced by the rather awkward portmanteau “Veganuary”. Whatever the reason, we are here to remind you that you can still eat well, drink (water) and be merry this month. Which is why we asked Mr Fah Sundravoraku, the co-founder of Japanese ramen masters Yamagoya, which opened a new London home opened in Soho last month, for a January-friendly ramen recipe. Not only will it warm your cockles, it is made with tofu instead of pork, so you can do so with a clear conscience.

yamagoya.co.uk

For kombu dashi (broth):

• 5 litres water
• 1 large onion
• 15g dried kombu or dried Japanese kelp

For tofu chashu:

• 200ml soy sauce
• 200ml mirin (Japanese rice wine)
• 200g sugar
• 3 x 350g pack premium tofu

_For the ramen: _

• 330g Japanese miso (fermented Japanese soybean)
• 1 ball fresh noodles or 1 pack instant noodles
• 20g sweetcorn 
• 20g Japanese marinated bamboo shoot
• 10g spring onion 
• 5g wakame seaweed (soak in lukewarm water for an hour)
• Spicy sesame oil

The broth:

Boil the water. Once boiled, cut the onion in half and place in the water. Cook for an hour on medium heat. Add the kombu and continue to cook for 30 minutes before turning off the heat. If you prefer a spicier broth, feel free to add Japanese red chilli pepper.

Tofu chashu:

Boil the soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Cool it down to room temperature. Take out the tofu from the box and let it rest for an hour to get rid of excess water. Then divide each block of tofu into 6 equal pieces before deep-frying for about 4-6 minutes or until the outside is golden. Rest the deep-fried tofu to get rid of excess oil. Once drained, marinate the tofu with the cooled sauce.

Tofu miso ramen:

Reheat the broth. Once it is boiling pour into a serving bowl and mix the miso into the broth. Boil the noodles until cooked and add to the bowl along with slices of the tofu chashu. Top with sweetcorn, bamboo shoot, spring onion, wakame seaweed and a few drops of spicy sesame oil.