Homemade Tonkotsu Ramen

 *Post by Angela.

For many of us, the term "ramen" means one thing and one thing only. Those little, brightly colored packages of dried noodles and flavor packets were a major contributor to my survival in college. Ramen meant easily obtained sustenance, albeit nutritionally-challenged sustenance, and nothing more. I certainly never considered a bowl of ramen to be a treat.  

All that changed with my first bowl of tonkotsu ramen.  Tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen offers up noodles in the thickest broth you can imagine, a broth only possible through hours of boiling pork bones, fat and collagen over high heat. My first sip of that porky, thick, delicious soup engendered a love for ramen that knows no bounds. And ever since consuming the best bowl of tonkotsu ramen I've ever eaten (at Ippudo in New York), I'd dreamt of someday creating a divine bowl of real tonkotsu ramen at home. When I saw that Lindy & Grundy was having a sale on bones, I seized the opportunity to make my dreams come true. Luckily, Marc (not to be confused with my Mark) over at norecipes.com did all the research and development for me and created this recipe for tonkotsu ramen. And Chef Taro provided me with this delicious (and adorably illustrated) recipe for chashu.

List of ingredients for the tonkotsu base:

• 2 pork trotters
• 2 lbs pork bones (preferrably leg bones)
• 1 1/2 lbs chicken bones
• Canola oil
• 2" knob of ginger, sliced thin
• 1 small head garlic, trimmed with excess layers stripped away
• 1 large onion, sliced thinly

First, I filled my very biggest pot with water and brought it to a boil. I added the pig trotters to the boiling water and cooked about 10-15 minutes to draw out as much of the gunk and blood as possible. I fished the trotters out, dumped them into a bowl of cold water then repeated with the leg bones and chicken bones.

I washed the pot and rinsed all the gunky stuff off my bones. I dumped all the cleaned bones into to the pot, covered them with about an inch of water and brought it to a boil. I continued to boil the bones for about 30 minutes, scooping up any chunks or foam that floated to the surface (below).

In the meantime, I heated 1/2″ of oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onions and fried until well-caramelized, probably about 20 minutes. I removed the onions to a bowl, then added the head of garlic and ginger to the pan. I fried them until well-browned and a bit shriveled. I added the fried onions to the bowl with the ginger and garlic.

Once I had gotten rid of the yucky stuff in the pot 'o' bones (no more chunks or foam), I threw the caramelized ginger, garlic, and onions in, covered the pot tightly with a lid, and cooked for the next 7 hours. I made sure to check the water level every couple of hours, adding more water if the bones weren't sufficiently covered.

After 7 hours had elapsed, I turned the heat off, then strained the stock into a container to await the rest of the soup.

Next step?  The chashu.

List of ingredients for the chashu:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sake
• 1 cut red chile pepper
• 2 1" knobs ginger, peeled
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 green onion, white and pale green parts only
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs pork belly

I threw all the ingredients except for the olive oil and the pork belly into a large sauce pot and brought them to a boil, then reduced the heat. Then, in a large skillet, I heated the oil over medium high heat, then seared all sides of the pork belly, about 2 minutes per side.

Then the seared pork went into the pot with the rest of the ingredients. I brought the liquid back up to a boil, then reduced the heat to low, covered and cooked for about an hour and a half.

Once the pork was cooked all the way through, I removed the meat from the liquid (which I saved to season the ramen) and let cool, then I sliced it up to adorn my bowl of ramen.

 

List of ingredients for the ramen:

• 3 cups tonkotsu base (from recipe above)
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon strained braising liquid from chashu
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated (not pressed)
• 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon mirin
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds coarsely ground
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fatback (salted pork fat)
• Cooked ramen noodles (amount to your liking)
• sliced chashu
• 2 scallions finely chopped
• 2 fried eggs
• Sriracha sauce, to taste

I heated the tonkotsu base back up in a saucepan. In a bowl I whisked together the tahini, chashu liquid, grated garlic, salt, mirin and white pepper, then added the mixture to the hot tonkotsu base, stirring to combine. I seasoned with salt as needed, then brought the broth to a simmer, and added the sesame seeds and pork fat, whisking.

I poured the broth over the cooked noodles in the bowls, then topped each bowl with a few slices of fatty chashu, a fried egg, sriracha, and some scallions.

Was it as good as the ramen at Ippudo? Not quite. I think there are a few kinks I still need to work out with the recipe, and I'd like to make my own ramen noodles next time around. But it was really, really good, and sooooo much better than the ramen of my college years that it's ridiculous - not even a comparison, really. And it is probably the most decadent soup I've had in recent memory. I have about half of the tonkotsu broth left, and I'm looking forward to another few bowls of porky deliciousness.

Comments

[TreasureLA]

Beautiful & enticing. Looks like a ton of work, but worth it.

[Angela]

:) Thanks, next time you'll have to come over and judge for yourself how we did!

[jesse]

looks great! totally a lot of work (as mentioned above) - - but wow, to reap the rewards of such an effort!

[Angela]

Thanks, Jesse! It is a lot of work, but on a lazy Friday night, it's not too bad (I don't sleep much anyway). I'm actually thinking of making it again soon, just so I can freeze it and stock up to have tonkotsu ramen whenever I want.

[Darin]

LOVE this write-up! Looks like a great bowl of soup. Definitely looks like a lot of work...I hope that one day I can get over my laziness and attempt to make something like this!

[Angela]

Hah! Thanks, Darin! You know, the only really work intensive part is the first part (cleaning the bones, scooping the scum). Then it's all about patience...this is probably a great thing to attempt when you have a lot of housework to do, or a good TV marathon to watch.

[Marie]

OMG you guys actually tried to make it! Ippudo is my fav ramen place ever and I've always wanted to recreate it, but I'm just scared of the labor intensity, haha. Great job guys =)

[Angela]

Thanks, Marie! I wish Ippudo wasn't so far away now...next time you head to NYC, stop at Ippudo and eat a bowl for me!

[BBQ Grail]

Fantastic blog post. I've included it in The BBQ Grail's 10 Posts Worth A Look for this week. http://wp.me/pwBnV-1Z2

[Angela]

Awesome, appreciate the link! But now I'm sad, because reading your blog makes me want a grill so, so much (and we don't have even a little yard). Sigh, someday. Anyway, thanks again!