Tonkotsu Ramen

This post may have been a year in the making, but I’ve been working on this tonkotsu ramen for the better part of the last decade. In case you haven’t been indoctrinated into the wonderful world of ramen, Tonkotsu broth is the Holly Grail of noodle soup broths. It is thick, creamy and nearly white in color, because the stock is taken from marrow bones that have been simmered to smithereens.

Given the availability of reasonably good frozen ramens, and the plethora of shops specializing in the one bowl meal, most sane people in Japan don’t undertake the challenge of making ramen at home from scratch. I don’t know if I’m just crazy or if it’s my fearless American spirit, but at some point in college, it occurred to me that I could make the one bowl wonder that got me through many a all-nighter, from scratch.

My first attempts were pale watery excuses for ramen. Actually they were more like noodles in pork soup. Over the years, my attempts yielded broths that were too porky, too brown, or too canned-meat tasting. Eventually, I got the soup to a place where you could pass it off as ramen to the less experienced palette (which was when I started writing this post), but it never quite nailed the nuanced balance of meat, aromatics, and body.

So how did I figure it out? During my recent trip to Japan, I had many bowls of ramen, each with its own distinct character and personality. Some used chicken stock, others included pork. I even had one ramen that was made of tuna stock. I think I was in the middle of a bowl of chicken consommé ramen with bacon, mozzarella and fried burdock on top when it occurred to me that perhaps limiting myself to a 100% pork broth wasn’t the right approach for the type of stock I was trying to create.

I had another epiphany at Ramen Stadium, in Fukuoka, where I hopped from restaurant to restaurant, gorging on Tonkotsu Ramen. Many of the broths had a dark oil that I’d always assumed was sesame oil. Upon closer inspection, some of the soups revealed caramelized bits of onion that were nearly burnt. The research of Louis Camille Maillard came to mind and I realized that a lot of the nuances in the broth were not coming from the meat, but from the caramelized aromatics in the broth.

Back at home, with bags of chicken and pork bones in hand, I set to work recreating the flavours and memories while they were still fresh in my mind. And the results? Well, let’s just say I won’t be standing in line for hours outside Ippudo this winter. To say it’s better than Ippudo’s would be a flat out lie, but does it make your lips sticky with collagen? Yes! Does it have little creamy nibbles of pork fat floating in the broth? Certainly! Does it put a big grin on your face when the steaming bowl is set in front of you? Hell yea!

Mission accomplished.

The rest of it, like the noodles and the toppings, is up to you, but I tend to like using very thin (Hakata style) noodles cooked very al dente, adorned with a generous array of toppings. If you want some chashu similar to Santouka Ramen’s Toroniku, here’s a recipe for my version. I also like to finish the bowl with a little extra aromatic umphh, in the form of grated garlic and ginger caramelized in sesame oil.

This recipe makes enough Tonkotsu base for 6-8 bowls of ramen (depending on how much water you add), and the Tonkotsu Ramen recipe below makes 2 bowls.

Next, I need to find some kansui so I can tackle the noodle making as I’m not super happy with the noodles I get in Chinatown.

Tonkotsu Base

2 lbs pork leg bone with some meat and tendon still on it
2 lbs chicken bones washed
oil for deep frying
2″ knob of ginger sliced thinish
1 small head garlic trimmed but whole
1 large onion cut into 8 wedges

Fill a pressure cooker 2/3rds of the way with water and bring to a boil. Add the pork and chicken bones to the boiling water and cook until you stop seeing red blood come out of the bones (about 10-15 minutes). The idea is to draw out as much of the gunk as possible into this first batch of water.

Dump the contents of the pot into a large colander (letting the water run down the drain), and scrub any dark brown scrum off all the bones under running water. Return the cleaned bones to the pot and cover with water (the water should come up about an inch above the top of the bones).

Bring the bones to a boil and skim off any chunks or foam that floats to the top. Keep doing this until you don’t seen any more foam or scum floating up (takes about 30 minutes).

While the bones are going, Heat 1/2″ of oil in a pot over medium heat and add the onions, head of garlic and ginger. Let this fry, stirring occasionally until everything is very dark brown and caramelized (this takes about 40 minutes).

Once the stock is scum-free, use a slotted spoon to drain and transfer the caramelized onion/garlic/ginger into the stock. Affix the pressure cooker lid and cook on high pressure for 2 hours. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cover with a lid and cook for 6 hours (you may need to check and add water periodically).

Once the pressure is released use tongs to remove and discard all the bones. Remove any chunks of pork and set aside for another use. Strain the stock into a bowl and skim off any excess fat.

Tonkotsu Ramen

1 1/2 C tonkotsu base
1/2 C water
1 Tbs tahini
2 cloves garlic finely grated (not pressed)
1-2 tsp kosher salt (to taste)
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 Tbs sesame seeds coarsely ground
2 Tbs minced pork fat

2 servings thin chinese style yellow noodles

2 Tbs sesame oil
1 clove garlic finely grated
1 tsp grated ginger

Top with scallions, corn and chashu

Heat the tonkotsu base in a sauce pan. In a bowl whisk together the water, tahini, grated garlic, salt and white pepper. Add this to the hot broth and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Bring to a boil and add the sesame seeds and pork fat and whisk to combine.

In a very small saucepan, fry the garlic and ginger over medium low heat in the sesame oil until it stops sizzling and it reaches a very dark brown color (just shy of being burnt).

Boil the noodles for the time recommended on the package (you want them to be very al dente since they are going in hot soup). Drain the noodles well and split them between 2 bowls. Cover the noodles with the tonkotsu soup. Drizzle on a spoonful of the browned garlic sesame oil, and top the ramen with your choice of vegetables and meat.

Update: There have been a couple people who have had problems with the original recipe and in speaking with them, I think there are a few points I should clarify:

1. To get the creamy white soup it’s important that you use pork leg bones. The white color comes from the marrow in the leg bones (you can also use pork feet). Using other types of pork bones such as ribs or neck bones will not give your soup the richness or color.
2. Don’t omit the pork fat. Most of the fat from the stock gets skimmed out, and the fat added at the last minute is what gives the soup it’s rich “sticky” quality. By whisking small bits of minced pork fat in at the end, you create an emulsion of soup and fat, so it makes the soup nice and creamy without being greasy. If you’re having a hard time finding it, try asking for it at a butcher. If you live in the south you can get salted pork fat sold as “fatback” in grocery stores.
3. The onions should be a deep brown, but they should not be burnt, if they are burning, your stove is hotter than mine, so turn the heat down, so they brown more slowly.
4. Tahini is not the same as toasted sesame paste. It should be light beige in color and have a thick pourable consistency. If your grocery store doesn’t carry it, try finding a Middle Eastern or Indian grocery store. I use a brand called “Al Wadi” that comes in a plastic container with a green label and lid.
5. Salt has different levels of salinity depending on the type and brand. Even amongst kosher salt, Morton’s for example is much more salty than Star (which I use). Most recipes deliberately under report the amount of salt you should use so you don’t accidentally over salt your dish. If you feel like it needs more salt, by all means, add more salt.

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