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’s thick, creamy and nearly white in color, from pork 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 an 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 palate (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 flavors 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 stretch, 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 toppings are up to you, but I usually go with the standards like chashu, menma , woodear and scallions. If you want some chashu similar to Santouka Ramen’s Toroniku, here’s a recipe for my version. To give a Kagoshima flair, I finish each bowl, with a drizzle of mayu (black garlic oil). It’s technically burnt garlic and it’s not something you’d want to eat alone, but mixed into tonkotsu ramen, it’s divine!
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.
Units
Ingredients
Tonkotsu Base ( makes 10-12 cups of stock)
- 2 pig trotters (cut in half lengthwise)
- 1.5 pounds pork leg bone (cut into several pieces)
- 1.5 pounds chicken bones
- 2 inch knob fresh ginger (sliced thin)
- 1 small head garlic (trimmed but whole)
- 1 large onion (sliced thinly)
- 1 teaspoon white peppercorns
Mayu (black garlic oil)
- ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
- 5 cloves garlic grated
For soup
- 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
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds coarsely ground
- 2 tablespoons fatback finely minced (salted pork fat)
To serve
- ½ batch fresh ramen noodles
- 2 teaspoons mayu (from recipe above)
- sliced chashu
- 2 scallions finely chopped
Instructions
Tonkotsu Base
- Fill a pressure cooker 2/3rds of the way with water and bring to a boil. Add the pig trotters 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. Transfer the trotters to a bowl of cold water then repeat with the leg bones and chicken bones (you can use the same water).
- Dump the now very dirty water down the drain and wash the pot. Scrub any dark brown scrum off all the bones and rinse them thoroughly. Return the cleaned bones to the pot and cover with water (the water should come up an inch above the top of the bones). Bring the pot to a boil and skim off any chunks or foam that floats to the surface. Keep doing this until you don't seen any more foam or scum floating up. This will take about 30 minutes.
- While the bones are going, Heat 1/2" of oil in a pot over medium heat and add the head of garlic and ginger. Fry this until they are browned and shriveled up. Use a slotted or wire mesh to transfer the ginger and garlic to a bowl. Add the onions to the oil and fry these until caramelized and shriveled. Add the fried onions to the ginger and garlic and set aside.
- Once the stock is scum-free, add the caramelized ginger, garlic, and onions, along with the white pepper to the stock. Affix the pressure cooker lid and cook on high pressure for 1 hour and 45 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker, cover with a lid and cook at a boil for 5-6 hours (you may need to check and add water periodically, the bones should be mostly covered in water).
- 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.
Mayu (black garlic oil)
- To make the black garlic oil, add the sesame oil into a small saucepan along with the grated garlic. Put the pan over medium low heat and let the garlic cook stirring occasionally until it is very dark brown. When the garlic is very dark, turn the heat down to low and let it cook until it is black.
- As soon as it hits black, turn off the heat and transfer the hot oil and garlic to a heatproof bowl. Let this mixture cool down completely. Add the cooled oil to a blender or food processor and blitz until there are no visible garlic particles left and the oil is uniformly black.
- It will taste burnt and slightly bitter, but this is okay as you only add a little bit to each bowl. Put it the oil in a container and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.
Tonkotsu Ramen
- Heat the tonkotsu base in a sauce pan. In a bowl whisk together the tahini, chashu liquid, grated garlic, salt, mirin and white pepper. Add this to the hot broth and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Bring to a simmer, then add the sesame seeds and pork fat and whisk to combine.
- Split the cooked noodles between two bowls. Pour the tonkotsu soup over the noodles. Top with chashu, scallions and whatever else you want to add. Finish the ramen with a drizzle of mayu on each bowl.
Notes
- To get the creamy white soup it’s important that you use pork leg bones and the trotters. The white color comes from the marrow and collagen in these parts. Using other types of pork bones such as ribs or neck bones will not give your soup the richness or color.
- Don’t omit the fatback (salted 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 fatback 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.
- The onions should be a deep brown, but they should not be burnt, if they are browning unevenly, turn the heat down, so they brown more slowly.
- 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 and has a relatively mellow flavor. If you can’t get tahini you can also grind your own sesame seeds until you have something resembling runny peanut butter.
- 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 Diamond Crystal (which I use). Most recipes deliberately go low on 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.
Kem says
Thank you for sharing your recipes. Your instructions are excellent.
lilmonstrita says
Thank you, Marc!
Suzy Rozman says
Fatback is not salted pork.. Its actually something that is commonly mistaken for. Pork Fatback is uncured and not salted. I just spent two days looking for it in LA.. Found it!
Andreas says
Thank you for this recipe. My son and I replaced the chicken bones with a beef neck added one more pig trotter and cooked it in the regular stock pot for 7 hours. The result is divine. A creamy, sticky and flavourful broth. Made the chashu exactly as described but used a shoulder roast instead. Amazing. My next “regular” pork roast will use that same recipe.
This was probably the best Ramen I have ever eaten. Step aside David Chang!
Marc Matsumoto says
You’re welcome, I’m glad to hear you guys enjoyed this!
genesia says
we are the sort of folk who queue up for ramen and so i am cooking this today for my family. my chashu is midway. i’ve made the broth yesterday. and later I will put it together but the house already smells incredible! i’ve been following your blog/recipes and social media for maybe almost a decade and you unfailingly serve up technique, flavour and ideas that work! even in a kitchen in bombay!
thank you for your consistent and excellent recipes. we rely on you!
more power.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Genesia, thanks for being such a long time reader and for stopping by to let me know. I hope you enjoy the ramen!
Mich says
Thanks for sharing this ! I tried this soup in a authentic Japanese restaurant and it tastes so good and especially on a cold night.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hey Mich, it’s the ultimate comfort food in Japan, I hope you give it a try!
Rick says
I am a serious fan of tonkatsu ramen and have wanted to rise to the challenge of making it, even just once, at home. This recipe is nothing less than perfection. I followed it exactly (aside from a few more pork neck bones and chicken bones). I’m not going to lie, it’s a ton of work to make the broth, including the toppings and the chashu. But omg it’s so worth it. My husband and I ate our bowls in near silence, enjoying every slirp as though we were in an authentic ramen restaurant.
Marc Matsumoto says
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks for stopping by to let me know😃
tzt says
And Dashi? Bonito? Konbu????
This is NOT a ramen!!!!!!!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi TZT, I think you may be confusing ramen with Miso soup, which is made with Dashi (which in turn is made with katsuobushi and konbu). Although some ramen also includes konbu, I’ve never heard of a proper ramen being made with dashi. Some styles of shoyu ramen are made with some fish (along with chicken and meat bones), however niboshi is a more common ingredient than katsuobushi. Tonkatsu ramen, which is the style from Kyushu literally means “pork bowl ramen” and does not include dashi. I hope that helps.
Ash says
wow, I know I’m 10 years late, but doesn’t mean I can’t try right? I’m so excited to try. Thank you so much for providing the recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Ash, good luck! It’s a lot of work, but soup is very rich and tasty.
Aboud says
Recipe is legit! Braved it yesterday as a Sunday project. Question: what to do with the remaining bones and meaty bone after straining out? Keep, freeze, and then blend later for a gravy perhaps?
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Aboud! It’s quite a project, but I’m glad to hear you found it rewarding. As for the bones, they’re not good for much. As you’ve probably seen, the bones crumble apart and they don’t have a ton of flavor left. Even if you blend them the result will be quite gritty, so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a pet that you you want to feed more calcium to.
Patrick Monk.RN says
WHAT IF I don’t have a pressure cooker, do you have a recipe for the rest of us appliance challenged folks.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Patrick, you can make it the same way as specified in this recipe, but you will need to increase the cooking time by 3-4x. Due to the extra evaporation you will also likely need to add water periodically.
Michael says
I may or may not have actually worked at ippudo ;] and i can tell you that you are very close here. One thing to add as well is a bit of homemade dashi, and some chi-yu. The umami bomb for the akamaru everyone is asking about is basically dried chilis, onion, garlic, ginger gochuchang, tobanjan, mixed misos, sesame oil
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Michael! I made this recipe back in 2009 when I lived in NYC, and have since moved to Japan and made a lot of improvements to this. Never really thought about cutting the Tonkotsu with dashi, but this makes sense. One of my favorite ramen shops in Sapporo cuts their Tonkotsu with shrimp stock. Also thanks for the Akamaru sauce tips. I’ve been working on an umami chili sauce by fermenting chilies with Koji, will have to try mixing it with miso, and aromatics.
Lucas says
Can the base be frozen? How long will it keep?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lucas, yes the base can be frozen. How long depends on the type of freezer you have. Most home freezers cycle the temperature up and down to prevent frost from building up on the inside of the freezer. This causes freezerburn over time so I wouldn’t recommend storing it for more than a few months. If you have a deep freezer you can probably get away with storing it for longer.
Steph says
For salted back fat, do you literally just sprinkle salt onto fat? or you mean brining it?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Steph, fatback is a cut of fat that comes off of the back of a pig (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatback). It’s often sold salted in stores, but it doesn’t need to be salted to work for this.