Caramelize the onions with the maple syrup. This takes about 10 - 15 minutes. You have to let the onions sweat and release their water and then let them really caramelize and start to turn a caramel brown color. As soon as they do, the onions are ready.
Then pour the broth and water into a pot on medium heat and add the carmelized onions, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, Bok Choy and cauliflower.
Let this mixture simmer, and then prepare the ramen noodles.
Boil some filtered water. Once boiled, add the ramen blocks in and let them sit for 3 minutes until they soften. After 3 minutes immediately remove and strain the noodles. Make sure you can separate out the noodles. And then add some cool water to prevent them getting over cooked and sticking together.
(Side Note: If you want to make sure the noodles don’t stick together you can put 1/4 tsp of toasted sesame oil onto the noodles and massage it in really well, so the noodles are very lightly coated and won’t get soggy in the final soup. Again, this is purely optional for those avoiding any and all fat. You could use any oil to prevent sticking, but the toasted sesame oil adds a very mild and lovely flavor to the dish).
Once the veggies in the broth mixture are all softened you can add in the ramen.
Then add another 2 tbsp of maple syrup to the mixture.
Another option: I like to season with an Umami seasoning from Trader Joe’s. It’s a great way to finish up and add a pinch of flavor to the dish. You can use any other umami seasoning you like.