Vegan ramen

Name: Vegan ramen
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 2 garlic cloves; thumb-sized piece ginger, sliced, plus a few slices cut into fine matchsticks to serve (optional); 1½ tbsp white miso paste; 1 tbsp neri goma (white sesame paste) or tahini; 15g dried shiitake mushrooms; 1l good-quality vegan stock; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 200g firm tofu, cut into chunky cubes; 1 tbsp cornflour; 1 tbsp veg or sunflower oil; 100g (2 x nests) ramen or rice noodles; 1 head pak choi, quartered; 2 spring onions, finely sliced, white and green parts kept separate; 25g ready-to-eat beansprouts; 1 carrot, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks; sesame oil, sriracha, chopped coriander, crushed peanuts, crumbled sheets of nori or dried chilli threads (silgochu), to serve (optional)