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.
📖 Recipe
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 ⅔rds 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 ½" 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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😃
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!
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!
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!
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!
lilmonstrita says
Thank you, Marc!
Kem says
Thank you for sharing your recipes. Your instructions are excellent.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi lilmonstrita, yes, you can make this in a stockpot, but you'll just need to increase the boiling time and add extra water along the way to account for the additional evaporation.
lilmonstrita says
I don't have a pressure cooker- can I just boil in a regular stockpot?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Catherine, the stock makes 10-12 cups, this is enough for 6-8 servings. The soup recipe on the other hand only uses 3 cups of the stock (which makes 2 servings), so to get 6-8 servings out of that you'll need to triple or quadruple it. Sorry I know this is a bit confusing, but hope this clears things up.
Catherine says
Hi Marc, I notice that the tonkotsu base makes about 10-12 cups. Does this entire recipe only calls for 2 servings? I'm trying to make 6-8 servings...how much of the tonkotsu base would I have to make?
Catherine says
Hi Marc,
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Dustin, thanks for the tips! I'm going to be in Yufuin, so I guess it's a bit far from there but I looked up Isshikitei and it looks delicious! Karaage is one of my favorite foods every though so I'm seriously considering a detour to get some at Taikou.
Dustin Mankin says
Sorry, Marc, a little more. I didn't know return would post. Both Nakatsu and Usa are famous for Karaage, and are kind of battling, right now. Nakatsu is more of a Shio base, but Usa uses more spices. Some shops use garlic and some use ginger. In Usa, I recommend Taikou Karaage. They have picked up notariety all over Japan. The Kanji is 太閤.
Dustin Mankin says
一色亭 is the kanji. It's in Bungo Takada City (豊後高田市). His son just opened a branch in Oita City, also. If you are in Oita Prefecture, Beppu is famous for Onsen and their famous dish is Tori Ten.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Dustin, thanks for the info. I'm going to be going to Oita next month, I couldn't find the ramen shop online, do you know what the kanji characters are for it?
Dustin Mankin says
Thanks for the recipe, I really want to try this, even though I don:t need to, since I live right below Fukuoka in Oita prefecture. We have a great shop in my little town called Ishikitei. One of the best ramens I have ever eaten. He uses his own recipe to make a soba ramen hybrid. My town is known in the region for it's Soba. I was told once that Mayu was started in Kurume, but I'm not for sure, if that is true. My wife is a huge fan of Miso/Tonkotsu hybrid bases, you might try that out.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Peter, it's never going to be perfectly white, as long as it tastes okay I wouldn't worry about the color so much. If you do a Google Image search "豚骨ラーメン" (Tonkotsu Ramen) in Japanese you'll see that even in Japan the soups range in color from light tan to medium brown.
Peter says
The soup is still a bit brown. How can it stay white after adding the caramelized/fried onions/garlic?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jocelyn, pork necks won't work as they do not have any marrow. It's the marrow that turns the soup white.
Jocelyn Pfeif says
Would pork Necks be a decent substitute for Pork Leg bone?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Neil, to be honest I can't remember, but I think it was around 8-9 quarts.
Neil Gray says
Hi, what size pressure cooker did you use?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Dotz, glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Dotz says
I don't usually comment on recipes but holy crap this recipe was absolutely spot on, I just made spent half a Saturday making this dish and it was just as good, if not better than the ones at the ramen shops, thx for this amazing recipe 😀
Frank Totino says
I am in the middle of the Tonkotsu process. I will move on to the others in time for sure! Thanks again for sharing these great discoveries.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Frank, nope I haven't tried that, but I do have recipes on here for a rich chicken ramen stock as well as for a clear chicken soup.
Frank Totino says
Thanks for this!!! Have you ever done the Greek thing and used a whole fresh chicken simmered for a couple of hours to make stock? mmmmmm....and you have a lot of chicken left over to roast if you want!
Mallissa says
Okay, thank you very much. You've been super helpful. 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mallissa, you can do this without a pressure cooking but it will just take much longer 5 hours might not be enough. I can't tell you exactly what setting on your stove since every stove vary's in power, but you want it to maintain a continual medium boil (it doesn't have to be so strong it looks like it's about to overflow), You can control evaporation by partially covering with a lid and then adding more water periodically.
Mallissa says
I also ask because I don't have a pressure cooker and I'm not sure how the temp settings look on them.
Mallissa says
Okay, thank you very much for getting back to me. So for stove top what heat setting would I do? I saw you say for 5 hours but I was confused on the temperature. I ask because I know water evaporates and I wonder how to keep that to a minimal or how to compensate. Sorry for all the questions.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mallissa, unfortunately this will not work in a slow cooker. To get the emulsified white stock, the mixture needs to be kept at a constant boil. A slow cooker does not get hot enough and you'll end up with a brown stock with the oil separated on top.
Mallissa says
I really love ramen and I'm definitely gonna try this recipe. My question is could I use a slow cooker? I ask because I don't have a pressure cooker or the time to watch a normal pot cooking process. Slow cooking is helpful like that. So is it doable? If so, can you explain to me how I'd do it? Thank you. 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Rachel, that looks great! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Regarding the eggs, have you tried this technique: https://norecipes.com/recipe/perfect-boiled-eggs/
Rachel Lee says
Hi Marc, I love your recipe. Instead of cooking the broth for 5 hours as you have instructed, I cooked it for 2 days and the results are awesome. It's thick and creamy just the way I had it from Ippudo. I failed at the eggs as I do not have old eggs kept in my fridge. The membrane was intact, makes the egg white tear off with it?
Anyway, thank you very much for sharing. If you have step by step or video of how you cook your recipe, it will be even more awesome ?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Carly, thanks for your nice note! It's always good to hear when someone makes something I post, but even more so when I hear that my ramblings about food have been helpful as well:-) I think you've hit the nail on the head about the rewards of cooking being more about the journey than the destination. Too many people get so stressed about the cooking part, they fail to enjoy (and learn from) the process.
Carly says
hi I made your Ratatouille one day and it changed the way I approach cooking. You speak in a very articulate and comforting manner. I learned so much from cooking one dish. I really appreciate the way you teach us how to cook. I think this way of conceptualing processes is successful, and should be utilized in educational experiences more frequently. Too often the excitement and gratification has to do with the end product; but more value comes from understanding of heat or composition. I really owe a lot of my fun, confidence and love for food to you.
Carly
Marc Matsumoto says
I've never heard of this before, but it's just gochugaru, large dried anchovies and oil. I think it would probably go better with a stock with some fish in it and maybe a more bold flavor like miso, but I suppose it could work with tonkotsu as well, but you'll likely lose the subtlety in the soup.
Herr Yamamoto says
Hi Marc, you might not havve the time for this, but if so i got a question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2zGTnRxDeI#t=0m55s (Sec 55)
Is this fish-chili oil well known in Japan?
Do you think it would do great in Tonkotsu ramen?
Regards
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Apong, the base will be a light beige color, it turns more creamy after you mix all the other ingredients in to make the ramen, but it will not be white. As long as it doesn't taste bad, I wouldn't get too hung up on the color.
Apong Goh says
Hi Marc, I had try, but the soup base is brown in color, not the white creamy color, is because the fried onion had cause it?
And bits confused, I need to fried the ginger, how abt the garlic? I saw ur photo, it seem like just throw the fresh garlic to the soup n boiled it.
Thank in advance
Marc Matsumoto says
Oh, wow, sorry about that, I didn't realize there was such a thing. It usually takes 3-4 times as long to cook something without pressure, so I'd say 5-6 hours. You'll definitely need to add some water part of the way through though if you go the traditional pot route.
Darrell Kahoalii says
HI Marc, No it's a Cooks Essential Pressure Cooker and cannot be used on a stove. What would be the time to cook in a stock pot or dutch oven on a regular stove? Thank you!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Darrel, pressure cookers should work on electric stoves (although it needs to contain steel if it's an induction stove) too, just use whatever controls are on your stove to turn up or turn down the heat.
Darrell Kahoalii says
Oh my pressure cooker is not a stove top, its electric! SO what is time time frame with a dutch oven on the stove?
Marc Matsumoto says
Use the knob on your stove. You should just be able to hear a steady stream of steam escaping from the valve and it should not be a loud hiss or whistle.
Darrell Kahoalii says
Thanks Marc! I actually love the brown broth and will make a Tonkatsu Shoyu Ramen. One last question.......If I'm using the pressure cooker, how do I control the temp? Thanks for the quick reply!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Darrell, I believe I used about an 8 qt pressure cooker when I made this. There is a quite a bit of evaporation that happens, but as long as your heat is not up too high, you shouldn't lose all your water. The broth will be very rich, creamy and porky ,but it won't taste like much at this point because there's no salt in it. Adding the chashu sauce is a good call, but keep in mind it will probably make your soup a little more brown (not a bad thing, but some past commenters really seem to get hung up on the color). Good luck!
Darrell Kahoalii says
Hi Marc, I've read so many different recipes for Tonkatsu Ramen and yours grabbed my eye for a few reasons. When using the pressure cooker to boil the bones, doesn't the water evaporate? I assume you don't take the lid off until close to two hours. How much of capacity (quart wise) is needed for the pressure cooker with all the bones? Once the broth has boiled for close to two hours, is the broth done? what should it taste like at that point? I plan on adding chashu sauce to the broth for a more rich flavor. This will be my first time making tonkatsu ramen asI love it so and can't get enough of it! Thanks so much!
Alexander Nicholas Tripodi says
Hey Marc, I used an aluminum stock pot....That's all I really have here. I know aluminum is a soft metal, so it could react with the contents in pot. I think I'll try the pressure cooker method next time...Either that or I'll have to borrow my mother's ceramic (I think...Those heavy ones with the enamel on the inside and outside) stock pot and try again.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Alexander, that is odd... What kind of pot are you using? Is there any chance the metal of the pot is reacting with the contents of the stock?
Alexander Nicholas Tripodi says
Yeah, they were all fresh ingredients. That's why I'm puzzled. It may be the garlic that's throwing me off. However, I'm using an 8qt pot with two leg bones and two smaller shoulder bones. I'm thinking i've used too many bones and have made my broth too greasy? I haven't added the other ingredients to finish off the broth yet since I'm only 4 hrs into simmering the bones. I've mellowed out the flavour a bit using chicken stock (unsalted) and a couple spring onions. Maybe next time, I should just stick to making a plain broth and adding all ingredients an hour or two before the soup is served?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Alexander, I'm not sure what would make your soup sour. The aromatics shouldn't cause that. Have you tried tasting them separate from the soup to see if they are sour?
Alexander Nicholas Tripodi says
Hey Marc,
I was reading over this post and I've been experimenting with ramen for quite sometime. I've used trotters, leg bones and the such but my broth always ends up tasting...strange to say the least. It's usually when I add the onion, garlic, and ginger that my broth tends to taste a bit acidic and sour....I cook for 4 people so I use a regular sized pot. I've made the mistake of using too many bones, so last time I made my broth I used fewer ( a lot less actually), and my broth still had that weird taste. Now I'm finally using leg bones and the such and it STILL has that weird, tangy taste. the weight of the bones came out to be 1320 g or so. Do you know what could be wrong?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi J, by "adding back fat" do you mean the excess fat that you skimmed off? You could certainly add some back in, but it will probably make your soup greasy since you're adding fatback to make the soup.
J says
One more thing, Marc. Do you advice adding back fat to the recipe? Because I saw, I think at seriouseats, that he used back fat. If I used back fat, what will happen to my soup? And what is the exact amount of water should I use and add during the process?
J says
Thank you so much, Marc, for answering. I appreciate it. 🙂 I hope I can cook this perfectly like you did! 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi J,
1. Yep, use a pressure cooker, otherwise it will take forever. As for a slow cooker I've never done it but I wouldn't recommend it. Tonkotsu needs to be boiled to keep the fat emulsified, otherwise all the fat will separate out and you're soup won't be as rich.
2. No, I just used a fine mesh strainer, but you could use a cheese cloth if you want.
3. You could, but given the amount of effort to make this, it's better to make a lot and freeze the extra.
4. It freezes fine, just drop the block of frozen broth in a pot, cover and reheat to bring it back to life. Shelf life will depend on your freezer. It will never spoil in the freezer, but freezer burn will become a problem after a few months especially in regular home freezers.
J says
Hi, Marc. I just want to ask you a lot of questions.
1. Can I use a pressure cooker in cooking the bones? How about a slow cooker?
2. Did you use cheese cloth after you cooked the soup base to remove any impurities?
3. Can I reduce the ingredients into half, so that I can yield half the soup, too? (Because there's just the two of use eating the ramen.)
4. If not, how to stock in the freezer? What container should I use? And how long is the shelf life in the freezer?
5. How do you reheat it?
Thank you in advance. 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Robert, since the tonkotsu base has no salt it will not have any taste, however it should not be flavorless (it should have the flavor of the ingredients in it pork, onions, ginger, garlic). What color was the liquid, did you try and mix it with the ingredients for the soup?
Robert says
Is the Tonkotsu Ramen base supposed to be flavorless? I followed your recipe and All I have is a flavorless liquid with a slight fatty aftertaste. Now this is my first time making bone broth so I easily could have done something wrong. Do you have any advice?
Oh, just so you know I don't have a pressure cooker so I used the pot method you mentioned. Plus listening to advice on another site I am currently reducing the broth to see if that helps any. but seeing as there is essentially no taste now I am not hopeful.
So hoping you can help me(and my currently disappointed family).
Marc Matsumoto says
Looks good! Glad to hear you enjoyed!
Pablo says
Marc, thanks for this amazing recipe. I made myself the tonkotsu ramen + toroniku chasu + noodles today. It was incredible! For a moment I thought I was sitting in Santouka's Shinjuku branch. I had to use minced bacon fat instead of the fatback, and it still blended in nicely. Here's' the photo; extremely bad plating but who cares, it did not last long. Thanks
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Andy, I don't know what Ippudo puts into their red sauce, but if I were to try and make it at home, I'd probably start with tobanjan, and blend it together with crispy fried garlic, black garlic (the fermented kind), and konbu extract. There's actually a product here in japan called Akakouji (made by Kayanoya) that would work better than tobanjan, but I don't think you'll be able to find it in the US.
Andy says
I just had a great bowl of Akamaru Modern Ramen at Ippudo. Do you know whats in that red ball they call Umami Dama in the middle of the soup? It taste a little bit like kochujang to me.
Matt V says
You sir, are a mad person with the bravado to post a ramen recipe online. I recently started to tackle Japanese ramen with enough know how to look at your recipe and say it is a winner. I'll def try some of your ideas.
Just wanted to shout out, making good ramen at home isn't impossible. Master the soup part of it, and then play around with what you like. Fresh grated ginger and garlic go a long way.
Marc, my holy grail of ramen is a black sesame tan tan men. forget the tahini for this one, get the chinese or Japanese sesame paste, it has been cooked and brings a smokey flavor tahini doesn't have. Drop a table spoon in the bowl to your tan tan men and give me a shout.
Just made your mayu recipe............ got all the soup and tare and finsihing lined up for a bad ass Tonkostu bowl in a day or so........
cheers.......
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Hummel, I usually get the butcher to cut them axially. Cutting them lengthwise will expose too much marrow, making all the fat render out in the washing phase. As for scrubbing, you want to pick away any clumps of blood that form near the marrow, but you want to leave the marrow in the bone for making the stock.
Hummel says
Hi Marc. Question, the bones that you get, how do you get the butcher to cut them? Lengthwise (so each piece is entire leg cut in half) or axially(long bone into smaller several smaller but round pieces). When you scrub the bones, do you scrub the inside marrow as well or do you leave those in place?
Marc Matsumoto says
Click the link to get my chashu recipe. As the miso, miso should never be boiled as it will make it separate.
iamthetruther8 says
Can I add mizo to the soup while it is boiling? Where can I buy chashu (pork)?
Akyra says
Hi I have been trying at this recipe and have gotten the base to where when you taste it leaves a nice little taste of the fat on your lips, but the broth does not seem as creamy. Any tips? Should I add more fat?
Marc Matsumoto says
It depends on evaporation and how much of the base you're left with when it's done. You should have about 10-12 cups.
Victor says
This recipe looks great! I can't wait to try it. I was wondering though if additional water needs to be added to the soup base before serving with the ramen or is the base served as is? Thanks Marc!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Stewart, I'd definitely reduce the stock a bit. As for other things to use it for. When I made a batch of this, I usually just divide it up and freeze it that way I have some on hand whenever I have a ramen craving. You could also use it for just about any soup/stew or sauce like you would chicken stock.
Stewart says
Hi,
I just made the tonkotsu ramen broth from your recipe, and I have about 15 cups of broth. My first question is whether you would recommend that I boil that down to 10-12. My second question is whether you had any recommendations for soups to use this broth. I'm not sure I can eat 10 bowls of ramen before the base goes. Thank you!
Andy says
Wow great tips! It's so hard to learn about Ramen and I'm so happy to find someone who has lots of experience, and is actually Japanese! Recently more recipes are coming out. Ivan Ramen has a book and Momofuku has Broth version 2 online at Lucky Peach. It's interesting that he now grinds his dried shitake mushrooms into a powder to get more flavor.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Andy sorry for the slow response, you caught me during a move. So the bones typically have some meat, connective tissue and cartilage attached as well as marrow. The marrow adds fat and richness to the broth, the connective tissue and cartilage turns into collagen and the meat gives the soup flavor. I would not recommend grinding the bones as the bones will never completely disintegrate no matter how long you cook it and you'll end up with a gritty texture. Also, lately I've been using liquid from making chashu (with pork belly) to add additional flavor to my tonkotsu broth, so that may be a better route than wasting a whole shoulder on the broth.
Andy says
It's cold out so I'm on my Ramen making quest! Curious about your thoughts about using Pork shoulder. According to Serious Eats, bones don't have flavor. If that's true, whats the point of using pork bones or trotters? Is it because you want the marrow? Pork shoulder has lots of collagen and good pork flavor too.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hahaha, haven't turned it into a recipe yet, but check out my chicken ramen post. It's pretty close to my current process for tonkotsu, except instead of chicken carcasses, I use pork leg bones. The seasonings are a little different (I add a ton of ground sesame to my tonkotsu, and I add some fatback at the end), but the soup base is pretty close. Also on the topping I make my mayu with black garlic and caramelized garlic instead of burnt garlic like I used to.
Andy says
Any hints or tips for your new formula? Looking forward to it!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kris, roasting the bones will add complexity to the flavor of the broth and can be quite nice for pork stocks, but it will make your broth brown and because a lot of the fat will render out during roasting your soup will not be creamy.
Kris says
Would it be possible to roast the bones first? I've seen it done this way and wonder how it would change the broth.
Andy says
Oh wow! I would love to hear about your new formula! It's that time of year for Ramen experimenting!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Andy, nice catch. The difference is that this recipe is much older than the chicken one. I have a new formula for tonkotsu ramen that I've been wanting to share but just haven't gotten around to it. Using kombu in the stock is one of the changes.
Andy says
First of all I tried your Tonkotsu recipe and it's awesome! Curious about your thoughts about using Kombu for Tonkotsu Ramen. In your Chicken Ramen recipe you use Kombu. For your Tonkotsu Ramen you do not. Is it because Tonkotsu has a heavier taste?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Umai, the reason there doesn't seem to be much fat in the soup is because it's emulsified in the soup, but there is actually quite a bit (this is what makes it creamy). The extra fatback is just adding a bit more richness at the end (kind of like adding cream to a soup at the very end). You could certainly add it earlier, but I think you'll see it's different. As for the garlic I mean black garlic (not black beans). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_garlic_(food) it's sweet, mellow and ridiculously full of umami.
Umai says
Do you mean fermented black bean instead of fermented black garlic?
Umai says
Thank you for your reply! The bones do not produce much fat and does not require skimming. Would I therefore have similar results if I simmered the fatback with the bones during the broth creation phase instead of blending it in the end?
By the way, I prefer this version to Ippudo which is too salty for me!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Umai, the fat will not totally melt, but it should release a fair amount of fat, making the broth creamy. This is why it's important to mince the fat very small. As for Ippudo's umamidama, it's been a while since I've had it so I can't remember exactly what it tasted like. If I were going to make something like this though, I"d probably start with tobanjan, and blend it together with crispy fried garlic, black garlic (the fermented kind), and kombu sal
Umai says
I used 2 pork : 1 chicken bones and added a dashi bag. I omitted the chicken bones previously, but the broth seems to have more flavor and texture with chicken bones. I whisked minced fatback in the boiling broth but it did not dissolve. Why? I had to use a blender.
Do you know how to make Ippudo's secret "Umami Dama" miso paste in their Akamaru Modern ramen? It looks like a mix of toubanjan and tomatoes but doesn't taste like it.
My broth was already light colored, but became white as milk after adding sesame paste. It was very creamy.
Kaem says
I jUst made it two days ago, it as realy good! I'm so impressed with your recipe 🙂 I made it last Tuesday and heated it up tonight, the soup and chasu pork taste so much better!! I can't fine sake here in Melbourne, so I only used chinese cooking wine instead, it turned out awesome 🙂 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Hai C, it could be the onions or it could be that the bones you used didn't have enough marrow, but honestly if the soup tasted good, you shouldn't stress too much about the color, even in Japan tonkotsu broth is rarely perfectly white. Also, when you add the other ingredients the broth should get lighter in color. Hope that helps!
Hai C says
Hello Marc, apologies if this question has already been posted. I tried searching, but could not find...
In any case, I have made this recipe 3x and I was only able to get the milky tonkotsu consistency during my first run, even though I've use the same bone/ratios on each run. On the last run, I was so excited because I started to see milkiness in the broth before I put on the lid, but the broth turned out brown again.
Besides having the wrong type of bones, could anything give the broth a brown color? Only thing I'm thinking right now, is perhaps burnt onions? Because, mine were closer to burnt than golden on the last run.
Thanks for the recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
I've actually never been to tenkaippin, but here's my kotteri chicken ramen: https://norecipes.com/recipe/chicken-ramen-recipe/ it's pretty rich and lately I've been making a lot more than this tonkotsu because it's a lot faster.
Paul Beveridge says
I've been reading up a lot of japanese sites on how to make tenkaippin kotteri ramen, have you ever tried making this? thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
Awesome! I'll add that one to the list to try out too. As for Tantanmen, I do one based on this tonkotsu broth with extra tahini, and then I top it with meat and sauce (no tofu) from my mabo tofu https://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/mapo-tofu/ Then I finish with scallions and extra Sichuan pepper and doubanjiang.
Paul Beveridge says
It's sooooo good!! i recently returned to UK after living in Tokyo for 10 years, and I think that and 武道家 (Budouka) in Waseda were my two favorites.
Also, do you have a recipe for tantanmen?
Thank you!!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Paul, it's so funny that you mention that place, I was just looking at their site and wanting to try it out. While I haven't been to that one, I have been to a place that does kogashi miso in Sapporo though and it tastes great. That place usually wok fries ground pork with some aromatics, adds the miso and then torches it with a massive blowtorch.
Paul Beveridge says
Also thanks for posting all of this. I can't wait to start experimenting.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Daniel, getting the same richness as tonkotsu in a vegetarian broth is going to be pretty difficult, that said, I make a vegan ramen using konbu dashi and soy milk that's pretty good. Not the same obviously, but it's pretty tasty.
Daniel says
Thank You for this, I'm also curious if you (or anyone) know or have a great vegetarian ramen recipe, as great as tonkotsu is some friends simply wont eat it
looking forward to your Updated recipes, thanks
Stern. says
Thanks for your reply!
I am looking forward to the update!
It's kinda hard too find those ingredients on the other side of the planet...
I will try to make the tonkotsu with the miso paste today, but it will be different since I only have the red miso paste laying around.(and I was lucky to even buy that, and ofcourse overpriced, 300ml for €5(6,5 dollars))
I actually never heard of the white and hatcho ramen, so I will search for that too.(I probably have to import that tough)
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Stern, I've actually evolved both my tonkotsu and miso ramen recipes significantly since I published this. Been meaning to do an update with video but just haven't had the time. Basically for miso, I start with the tonkotsu broth and then add a miso paste that I make with 3 kinds of miso (mostly white, some red and just a bit of hatcho), sake, sugar, garlic, ginger and ground pork, that I sauté and then torch. Hope that helps.
Stern. says
Hi marc, thank you for sharing this traditional recipe( certainly one of the better ones here on the internet).
Lately I was experimenting with miso ramen, but I didn't find a recipe I could trust, could you please share a good miso ramen recipe?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Natalie, what's a ship ramen?
Natalie says
Hi Marc - do you have a ship ramen recipe to share?
Thanks,
Natalie
Jason says
Omg! Thank you so much for posting this! Like you, I have been trying for years to perfect my tonkotsu broth; unsuccessfully. It has always been off a bit. In comparison to what you posted, I wasn't off by much though. You have a few things listed that I didn't think of or missed. Thank you!! Great short read too BTW. Sounds like the inspiration was strong in you.
david says
Sound great!!! I will try it and I will let you know ..thank u
Ramiro Salas says
It depends how much you put in. I added about 2 Tbsp for the whole broth, so the overall effect was negligible, but I didn't need to add any extra salt at the end. With that amount, you don't even know it's there. That being said, Fish sauce provides a small amount of natural MSG, so it adds also the umami flavor. The overall "feel" of the broth tasted more "whole" if that makes any sense.
david says
hmmmm adding fish sauce?? how was it?? is it salty ?? or not too sweet??
I want to try it.
Ramiro Salas says
Thank you for posting this. I made this recipe over the last couple
of days and it came out fantastic. A few minor changes: I added 1/2 cup
of Sake to the broth before pressure cooking. This increases the acidity
slightly and allows for more collagen extraction. Second, I pressure
cooked for 2 1/2 hours, following the advice from the Modernist Cuisine
on pressure cooking times for stocks (1 1/2 hrs for poultry, 2 1/2 hrs
for beef or pork). I use a large Kuhn-Rikon cooker so I don't have
issues with water evaporation. I passed the broth through a fat
separator after filtering so I can make sure the only fat source is from
the fat back. When mixing the Tahini and the fat back, I used an
immersion blender (in low speed) to make sure everything was smooth.
I used pork belly for the Chasu and I bough the highest quality noodles I
could find (frozen, not tightly packed) since I didn't have enough
bandwidth to go for the whole thing. I also added a bit of Vietnamese
fish sauce instead of salt, giving it a much nicer umami taste without
being noticeable. In addition to the standard toppings, I also added
finely sliced black garlic for added complexity.
All in all, I can say I won't be doing the lines in my local Ramen shops in the Bay Area anymore... Thanks again!
david says
omg!!! so quick answer.. thank you!!!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi david, I've never had silverlake's ramen so I'm not sure what it tastes like, but if you're trying to get more sesame taste, try adding more tahini. As for salt, it doesn't have to be Kosher salt, but table salt is less salty than kosher, so be sure to reduce the amount of salt if you're using table salt. I hope that helps.
david says
Thank you for quick answer. In L.A. there is silverlake ramen. They are totally new taste ramen. Very creamy and good salty. I try to make same as there style but something missing in my soup. When you use salt, it have to be kosher?? And how to make soup really roasting sesame seed taste. I put sesame but its not work. ㅠㅠ
Mzjpuff says
Ohhhh ok! I was getting so fustrated because I thought I was doing it wrong every time! Thank you so much! Hopefully, fourth times a charm! 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
The aromatics are fried for the same reason onions need to be very well caramelized for making french onion soup. The high heat induces the maillard reaction which creates thousands of different flavor compounds not found in the fresh ingredients.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi David, I actually put soy milk in chicken ramen. You're certainly welcome to add it to make it even more creamy, but it is not a traditional addition to tonkotsu ramen.
david says
also fried ginger, garlic and onion, can you tell me why have to do frying??
or can I just put fresh one???
thank you
david says
hi
I heard that some people put soy milk in the base. How it was work??
If I put atari goma, is work better than tahini??
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mzjpuff, the broth straight out of the pressure cooker will not be creamy white. It doesn't get that way until you whisk in the tahini and pork fat. It's the emulsion of collagen and fat that makes tonkotsu broth white.
Mzjpuff says
Hi Marc, I got 6-8 cups today when I made it cause I put the pressure cooker on low like you suggested. Much less evaporation. So now my problem is the broth isn't creamy white. It's a light brown and I cleaned the heck out of all the bones! What's wrong now?
johnwu says
Thank you very much for this recipe! Made it just now and even though I used pork back bones rather than leg and had no chicken bones, it still came out delicious if not exactly the creamy white broth I wanted. Next time, I'll make sure to use the right ingredients. Here are some tips for those wanting to make this as I ran into some obstacles:
-If you're going to use a pressure cooker, be careful not to cook it on high heat for those two hours. Once I opened it up, my liquid had reduced by a lot.
-Once you're making the actual broth that the ramen goes into, question your taste test. When I tasted the soup, I felt it was a bit bland or not salty enough which may also have to do with the fact that I didn't have the proper bones other than the trotters. It made me panic and I ended up oversalting it. Fortunately, I was able to salvage it by adding a bit of sugar and more water. I think had I not overreacted, the broth would've been perfect with all the flavors of the toppings and mayu complementing it.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Passenger, if you can find it, pig head works great because it has a ton of collagen, but it's not readily available in the US which is why I use trotters (which also contain a ton of collagen). The mallet for breaking the bones is to release the fat in the marrow into the soup, but you can get the same effect by cutting the trotters lengthwise and having the leg bones cut into pieces. Hope that helps.
Passenger says
Dear Marc,
If I am not mistaken, Hakata styled ramen includes pig head inside the broth, thus it gives a thicker soup. Also, they tend to take a mallet and lift the bones from the broth while its cooking and break the pork bone into pieces. If I am not mistaken Ippudo does use pig head in its soup. I hope this helps.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mzjpuff, it sounds like you're experiencing more evaporation than I do somewhere along the line. I'm wondering if it's in the step where you skim off the scum floating to the top. When this step is done and before you affix the lid are the bones still covered with water? If not, add some more water here. Otherwise, you may have the heat on the pressure cooker turned up too high. The heat should be high enough to barely maintain a whistle. It's too low if the whistle stops and it's too high if it's making a loud hissing sputtering noise. In any case you should still be getting a same amount of flavor out of the bones (it's just more concentrated), so you can just add water at the end to make more stock.
Mzjpuff says
I recently came back from a vacation in Japan and I fell in love with Rokurinsha's Tsukemen. I used this Tonkotsu broth and a fish based broth to try and re-create it. I definitely have to keep experimenting with this. Are you by any chance going to post a tsukemen recipe soon perhaps???
Mzjpuff says
Hi Marc, I have made this recipe about 3 times now and it's definitely a great tasting broth. The only problem I have is that I am not getting 10-12 cups of broth out of this recipe, maybe like 4 cups at the most. I originally bought the 6 quart Fagor pressure cooker cause that was the one listed on your page but I see now that it's been upgraded to an 8 quart. Does using a bigger pressure cooker solve this problem or am I doing something else wrong?
Marc Matsumoto says
You'll probably need a commercial pressure cooker (the aluminum kind with lid that's secured by bolts) to do a double batch. I'm not a big fan of aluminum cookware so can't really make any recommendations there.
Yogicfoodie says
Hi Marc,
Making it again for the fifth time! I can't thank you enough for the recipe.
Sidebar question, could you recommand a pot big enough to hold double batch of stock?
Thank you again.
Tristan Leterrier says
yeah exactly. l also remove the garlic and ginger.
junyang chen says
looks great!
ok so I add the skin to the other ingredients before cooking. once it is cooked, remove the bones and break down the remaining marrow and fats in the pot?
Tristan Leterrier says
you welcome. here's my last attempt, 3 days ago. the broth was really white before adding 35cc of chashu sauce.
junyang chen says
great! shall try it, thanks!
Pedro Faria says
Hey Marc,
This recipe is oh-so-good! I don't how to express my gratitude. I made a mistake letting the onions get burned and the stock didn't turn out white in color, but nonetheless the taste... the smell... it's heavenly! I have yet to find pork cheeks for chasu, but even with belly it was awesome. Thank you very much!
josh says
Thank you for taking the time to reply. your recipes are awesome!
Marc Matsumoto says
Any will taste fine, but red onions will give you some unwanted color, so I'd go for white or yellow.
josh says
Once the stock is scum-free, add the caramelized ginger, garlic, and onions
to the stock. What kind of onion? white, yellow, red? just making sure i get the right onion. thank you
Emiliano Lucchi says
Thank you so much, and happy New year.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Emiliano, it will change the balance of the soup, but you could increase the chicken bones and trotters. I would not recommend using beef bones as it will give you a totally different soup.
Emiliano Lucchi says
Hello Marc,
I'm very happy i find your site, i would like to try your recipe but i can't find pork leg bones, you think i can use beef bones with lot of marrow or just use more pig trotter that are easy to find?thank you
Adam says
Plenty of Marrow.
Marc Matsumoto says
Save it, it's great for for making stir-fries and can be used as manteca to make tortillas and such. As for reintroducing, you're going to be adding fatback into the finished soup, so you shouldn't need it for the ramen.
Canadaramen says
Making the whole recipe for the second time...it rocked the first time, but that was a while back. Question: I chilledthe base broth after cooking it but before straining it. It had about an inch of fat congealed on top. It is a wonderful cream colour. I don't want to toss it out in case I need to reintroduce it...should I keep it or toss it? Am I likely to need it to add back? I doubled the recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Adam, how much marrow is in the bones? It looks like it should be enough, but the reason why you want the leg bones (the bones from above the knee joint) is that they contain a lot of marrow.
Adam says
Hey Marc!
I ordered two pig trotters (cut lengthwise) from my local butcher. When they came in it was actually the feet and the entire leg with meat attached (basically two of these cut lengthwise and raw: https://t2.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/43/76/43/400_F_43764338_rnix3pQOgwQn6W0vkz5sVUOUyFgr6eln.jpg)
So I was wondering, since you described trotters as just the feet, do I actually need 1.5 more pounds of pig leg bone, or is what I have already sufficient? Thanks for your time and your awesome recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lili, Tonkotsu means "pork bone", Tonkatsu means "pork cutlet", two different words, two different dishes. I don't think I've ever seen a tonkatsu ramen before, but it might be interesting:-)
Lili Little says
Hi Marc
Is tonkotsu ramen different from tonkatsu ramen? I'm assuming that this isn't tonkatsu because it's doesn't have fried pork but I wasn't sure. Thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Alan, I've heard of refractometers being used to measure brix for ramen, but I'm not sure what sugar content has to do with the consistency of the soup. In a chain restaurant setting where you don't have the time to properly train apprentices, I could see how something like this could be useful, but for home use (or even a single ramen shop), I'm of the belief that it's important to rely on your senses rather than the output of some instrument to decide when the ramen tastes right. Van Gogh didn't use a colorimeter to mix his paints after all. I guess my point is that if everyone made the same ramen, the world of ramen would get boring very quickly. Taste your soup and decide what consistency is right for you.
Alan says
Hi Marc, I know most of the famous Ramen restaurant in japan and now in US uses stock refractometer / brix reading to measure the thickness of the soup. What is your recommended brix reading (0-33%) for the soup. I have heard around 10-11%. How do you adjusted the concentration of the soup..if it's higher or lower at the time of measurement ? Just add water to thin it out to get a lower reading? Or cook it longer to evaporated some of the water content out to get a higher reading of the soup to match around 10%? Since I really want consistence in my soup every time. It could be the pork bone and trotter I used have different content of collagen and fat..etc to make my soup not taste the same every time . Any tips on getting consistence soup?
Alan says
Hi Marc, I know most of the famous Ramen restaurant in japan and now in US uses stock refractometer / brix reading to measure the thickness of the soup. What is your recommended brix reading (0-33%) for the soup. I have heard around 10-11%. How do you adjusted the concentration of the soup..if it's higher or lower at the time of measurement ? Just add water to thin it out to get a lower reading? Or cook it longer to evaporated some of the water content out to get a higher reading of the soup to match around 10%? Since I really want consistence in my soup every time. It could be the pork bone and trotter I used have different content of collagen and fat..etc to make my soup not taste the same every time . Any tips on getting consistence soup?
evan tomas says
Ok, thank you!
Marc Matsumoto says
While aluminum has never been shown to be a causal factor in Alzheimer's, it can none-the-less be toxic to humans in high enough doses. If it weren't for a very thin layer of aluminum oxide coating aluminum surfaces (naturally occurs when a freshly cut piece of aluminum makes contact with air) will easily corrode. Salts dissolved in water will corrode aluminum given enough time and heat will accelerate this. Also, while aluminum is a very good conductor of heat, this can lead to hot spots in your pan especially when you're using it on a gas stove. All this is to say that I typically try to avoid aluminum cookware when I can. Stainless steel (though heavier and more expensive) is less reactive and conducts heat more evenly.
evan tomas says
Hello Marc, Glad to have found your blog and will most definitely be trying this recipe out soon! Just wanted to know if I can use an aluminum stock pot. I purchased a large one for a good price from a restaurant supply store, but have read that aluminum can give on a metallic flavor to stocks. Thank you!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Andreas, it would be best to expose the marrow. You can put the bones in a thick plastic bag and use a hammer to break them in half.
Andreas Grüter says
Hi Marc.
This is such a great blog you have. I have very little experience in the kitchen but i really want to try to make this tonkotsu ramen. I got some pork leg bones, trotters and chicken bones from my local butcher. The trotters were cut, but do I have to cut the bones as to expose the marrow or do I leave them whole?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mikio, the term "katamen" usually refers to the the cooking the noodles for a shorter amount of time, which results in firmer noodles. They're not actually different noodles.
Mikio says
Hello Marc. Congrats on your blog, great recipes and fabulous pictures.
Just tried your tonkotsu recipe last night and as a nikkei former exchange student in Fukuoka I must say that you really hit the spot with this one.
Before last night, I had been craving for a bowl of tonkotsu ramen for years. I went to almost every ramenya in town but their tonkotsu didn't even come close to the real thing. I was starting to think that it was impossible to eat a real tonkotsu ramen outside of Japan.....So you can imagine how grateful I am for this recipe! Thanks for your efforts!
Just a quick one: I was wondering if you know how they make the hard noodles (katamen) that the ramenya usually offer in northern Kyushu.
Greetings from Lima, Peru
CindyC says
This is Awesome! you're Awesome! thx very much 🙂
Tristan Leterrier says
if you are having troubles to get the creamy texture, here's a tip:
discard the bones after cooking, and use a barmixer to emulsifiate the stock,then filter it.
within 30sec you'll get a super creamy white soup
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jaren, the base will have a light tan color and will not look super creamy until you add the tahini and pork fat to the final soup. The collagen from the trotters is part of the equation but you really need the marrow from the leg bones for the richness.
Jaren says
hey marc! i followed the recipe to prepare the broth but did not have the creamy soup base =( it looked a little darker from the caramelised onions, garlic and ginger. the pork leg bone is the knuckle that the butcher gave me at the market. could this be why it might be wrong? (nonetheless the trotters should have the collagen though...)
Tristan Leterrier says
a great technique to get a creamy and white-as-milk broth is to add pig skin before cooking the broth (300g for a 8-10 L pressure cooker), then discard the bones, and use a bar mixer to emulsifiate the marrow and fat.
believe me, you 'll get a perfect broth in no time
Marc Matsumoto says
Sounds delicious! Great idea using skin in place of the trotters.
Tristan Leterrier says
Hi Marc!! I followed a recipe that is a little bit different ( 7kgs of pig thy bones ,600 g of pig skin, ginger and garlic, 2 pots), but the result was really good, and l did got a white and creamy broth !!
l seasoned it with homemade shio-tare, shoyu-tare, and maayu.Toppings were nitamago and torotoro chashu , sesame seeds , leeks, ans white pepper. In France, even in Paris, there is no japanese restaurant that serve tonkotsu ramen, so l made a big ramen party so my friends could taste and they loved it !! thanks again for your help and your knowledge !!
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm no longer living in New York, but it's great to hear there's a place making fresh noodles locally.
goldfool says
I think you are in NYC area. Do you know about sun noodle? They opened a factory for Ramen in Tetterboro airport, there should be some local places that sell the fresh different types of noodles. They have also done tastings.
Joey says
Made it. Loved it. Thank you!
Marc Matsumoto says
Because pressure cookers speed up the time in which the flavor is extracted from the bones (usually 2-3x faster), cooking it beyond a certain point is pointless. It actually because detrimental to the stock as the bones will start to break down and you'll end up with a gritty stock. Since leg bones and trotters are so thick, I find that it needs about 1.5 to 2 hours, but there wouldn't be much point in cooking it beyond that.
Matt says
I've read that using a pressure cooker for too long won't actually help with extracting more flavour from the bones. Have you ever tried to make this without using a pressure cooker? Any noticeable differences? Really appreciate this post! Thanks
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Titus, ideally you need both feet and leg bones. The feet lack marrow, while the leg bones lack collagen, both of these elements are what make the soup white and creamy.
Titus says
Hey Marc, great site you got here. I was trying your recipe and I was wondering if pig feet bone would work. Or it has to be pig leg bone. Also, do I need pig hock as mentioned in one of the comments? Thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
With meat will work fine.
Tlauver says
For the chicken bones, would just throwing in a bunch of chicken wings (with meat still attached) work, or should the bones be completely free of meat? Thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Richard, yep, it's best to cut the trotters through the bone. Butchers usually use a band saw to cut through them, so you'll probably have a tough time cutting them at home. It should still work okay if you're not split, but you'll need to cook them for longer. Even if they are prepackaged most supermarkets have the saws to cut up larger carcasses so if you can get someones attention you should be able to get them to cut them in half. The trotters go in with the bones.
Richard Ha says
Hi Marc,
This might be a silly question, but I couldn't get the trotters cut lengthwise at the butcher because I got them prepackaged from an Asian supermarket. Am I suppose to cut through the bone or can I just cut through the meat leaving the bone exposed? Also I'm supposed to dump the trotters into the broth together with the bones correct? Sorry I'm still new at this. I love your site and thanks again!
The Little Dumpling says
A tip on this that I think works well is to lightly oil the container before you freeze the base. Sure, the base will grab some of the oil, but you need to let the base cool to refrigerator temperatures before you make this transfer, so it is a cold base. Let it freeze, then pour a slim layer of oil over the base. When you thaw, you can either skim or spoon this layer off, depending on when you do it. But, of course, if you use a high quality oil, you can always consider it as an additional ingredient. That's what I do.
Loudon
The Little Dumpling says
Marc,
Your website, which I've been lurking around on for a month, led me on a dazzling food shopping trip in Anchorage, Alaska yesterday. Got trotters, fatback, tahini, all kinds of goodies. I will let you know how the experimentations go. Your site is absolutely phenomenal. I hope it is rewarding.
Loudon
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Alan, while I'm sure there are good and bad pork leg bones, I'm usually just happy to find them. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say that thicker bones probably have more marrow (a good thing) and that bones from heritage breeds of pork have better flavor (Mangalica, Iberico, Berkshire, etc).
Alan says
Marc,
Awesome receipe!! I have question of the quality of the pork leg bone. As far as pork leg bone , Is there specific size and color of the pork leg bone we should be looking at when we buy them from the market?
Thanks again.
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, absolutely. I usually make a double batch and freeze it in 2 portion sizes. As for the length of time it all depends on your freezer. It will never spoil in a freezer, but over time, it will start to take on "freezer smell", and get freezer burned on the surface. Use your best judgement based on how long things have lasted in your freezer in the past.
lisa says
hi Marc,can i freeze the base if i can for how long?
Marc Matsumoto says
The braising liquid is the liquid that the chashu braises in, so you'll need to click the link to the "chasu" post and make that first to get the liquid.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kami, yep, by "pork fat" I literally mean uncooked pork fat. It's great that it already came minced, but depending on how small the cubes are you may want to go over them once again with a knife (they should be as small as possible . The idea is a bit like adding butter to soup or risotto at the very end to add richness, so you don't want to have big chunks of fat floating in your soup. The heat from the hot soup should almost instantly melt and cook the fat. As for the noodles, I've never been able to find good ramen noodles in the US, which is why I started making my own. Even large Japanese grocery stores like Mitsuwa don't sell plain uncooked ramen noodles without the soup. The closest thing are the thin Chinese yellow noodles that are sold in most Chinatowns and Asian grocery stores.
Kami says
How do you make braising liquid? Just soy sauce and miso together?
braising liquid
Kami says
Thanks, Marc! What do you mean Pork Fat? I made the broth yesterday and it turned out so good. The color is white creamy color. I couldn't find any chicken bones so I bought five chicken drums and take out the meat and used the drum bones. LOL...I haven't finished the rest of steps since we will have the noodles tonight. I don't have the ramen maker so i am going to substitute with different type of noodles. If you don't make your own ramen, where can you buy the ones it's already been made? I found the pork fat at supermarket but they're like raw pig fat (non-cooked). Do you mean pork fat like Chashu? The pork fat is already ground like tiny cubes from my supermarket which is very nice so i don't have to chop or ground it myself. Do I need to do anything before I add to the soup?
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, it's a euphemism for pigs feet:-)
Kami says
OMG!!! I can't believe i found a good recipe for making ramen. It's always in my mind to try this one. I will definitely try to make it this weekend. Is pig trotter as same as pig feet? I will post it again how it turns out. Thanks, Marc!!! I am so excited. :D...
Savita says
This is awesome! I followed the recipe exactly, and it's just delicious. I actually doubled the number of pig trotters for the broth, so now I have some frozen away for next time. Many thanks!
ByThePowerOfRAmen! says
I bet it was the extra trotter, hah. Seems obvious in retrospect. They looked so small, but I guess a little goes a long way! Making this soon for family, thanks for the perfect recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
Wow, duck bones, that sounds awesome! I'm assuming you substituted the chicken for duck bones? If so, it's unlikely the bones contributed richness unless there was still a lot of fat and cartilage on the bones. The richness comes from fat and melted cartilage (collagen) in the soup and was most likely from the pork. You can make it less rich by eliminating the minced pork fat at the end.
ByThePowerOfRAmen! says
Awesome recipe man. I've got some late night seconds at my side as I type this message. I used duck bones and it turned out fantastic. I was wondering if you could recommend any toppings or condiments to balance the richness of the soup? Maybe some sort of pickled ginger? Also, could the duck bones have played a role in making the broth a little richer than I'd like?
Marc Matsumoto says
Medium heat. You want the water to be at a hard simmer to keep the fat and liquid emulsified, but if it's boiling too much , you'll keep having to add water. Keep in mind you'll also need to triple the cooking time if you don't use a pressure cooker.
JH says
Hi if I do not have a pressure cooker, at what heat do I cook the soup base in? High heat or medium heat? Thanks
Venise says
I tried making this today, but I didn't have all the ingredients (such as the pig trotters...) So I had to improvise with pork bones and fat that I've been saving to make soup, with a bit of homemade chicken stock. Even though I didn't make it like yours, it was probably the best ramen I've had, since the restaurants that I've been to in Montreal up to date are pretty regular, and are no where near authentic ramen. My dad had some and he was so impressed... I told him next time he wants me to make some, to buy me the pig trotters. 😛
Btw, I searched and searched for a great recipe for tonktosu and yours just seemed awesome, especially because of the research you put into it... One video just said to boil pork bones with a bit of ginger for the broth and served it like that with the chasu and other toppings... no mirin or tahini or anything else! :S SO... Thank you! 😀
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kolten, to be honest I've never tried using ham hocks to make this soup so I'm not entirely sure how well it will work. Aside from the smoke flavor that the ham hock will add (which might be interesting), the other potential issue I see is that ham hocks have already been cooked, which means some of the collagen and fat have probably already been rendered out. Were you able to find pig trotters? While you could probably get away with substituting out the leg bones for something else, the trotters are essential to get a creamy tonkotsu broth. As for the meat on the bone, a little bit of meat is fine as it will add flavor.
Kolten J says
Marc, I am having the hardest time finding pork leg bones from anyone here in Utah. Is there any way I could use ham hocks? If so, do I cut off the excess meat and use just the bone. I am dying to try this recipe. Thank you!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Tristan, sorry to hear it's not working for you. Are you using the types of bones listed in the recipe? If so, it's possible that there's still blood coming out of them after the first boil, so you can try and boil them a little longer before scrubbing. Also, keep in mind that the soup stock will be a light brown color before you add the tahini and fatback, it also won't look super creamy until those ingredients are added.
Thomas Abraham says
Hi Marc, thanks a lot for your recipe.
It's my second attempt doing tonkotsu ramen and l couldn't get the stock right...again!
the stock always turns to brown, very different from your stock that is almost white..
and even after 2 hours in the pressure cooker (10L) the stock is not really creamy...
i don't get why...
it would be awesome if you could upload a video to see each steps of your recipe..
Marc Matsumoto says
Nope, you'll need a larger pressure cooker, and the time it take for the cooker to get up to pressure may take a little longer, but the cooking time remains the same.
JohnMayhew says
Hey Marc, if I double the recipe should I double the pressure cooker time as well?
JohnMayhew says
Hey Marc, if I double the recipe does that mean I double the time for cooking in a pressure cooker as well?
Marc Matsumoto says
It's called menma. They're bamboo shoots that have been preserved in salt, and are prepared by first soaking in water to remove the excess salt, then you just season them with dashi, mirin, and soy sauce and cook.
nmlcr says
Do you know how to get those wonderful tender bamboo shoots that is traditional with ramen? Is there a Japanese name for it?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Rob, it's a generic pressure cooker, so I'm honestly not sure what brand it is, but it looks vaguely like this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000717AU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0000717AU&linkCode=as2&tag=japandirectand I think it's 6 quarts. You may want to get a bigger one though as I'm always wishing I could fit a little more into it (since you can't fill a pressure cooker to the top.
Rob says
Hey Marc! Love your site. I'm going to try your ramen recipe but I need to get a pressure cooker. What brand and size pressure cooker do you use?
Thanks,
Rob
Marilia says
Marc, did you try Ichiran ramen when you were in Fukuoka?? I've been trying to find somewhere that did a Tonkotsu ramen as good as that for years. How would you compare it to yours??
(am in New York next week on holiday, so am really looking forward to trying the Tonkotsu ramen at Ippudo...)
junyang chen says
Great recipe, got the white creaminess on my 3rd attempt. Secret is that one can never chop the Fatback(i used fresh pork hard fat) small enough. I blended it in a blender with home made tahini and it looks like extra creamy but runny-ier chowder.
thanks from singapore!
Marilia says
This is by far the best English language tonkotsu training piece one can find anywhere. My second time trying the recipe, I decided to lightly roast the bones in the oven, I did this after the initial boil and cleansing. To my delight I was able to achieve SUPER WHITE broth within the first two hours. I know some French techniques call for roasting bones to impart color, but most I have seen and used also call for tomato paste, flour, and blackened onions. I truly believe a simple dry roasting of bones without any additives gets the broth to white. How? I have no clue.
Thanks so much for working on this recipe. Great work!
Marc Matsumoto says
Sure! Use the Tonkotsu base and make this instead: https://norecipes.com/blog/kimchi-ramyeon-recipe/
I actually like it better than regular old tonkotsu ramen.
Kimchi says
Just made this and its sooo yummy! Thank you so much for the recipe. I once ate a Tonkotsu ramen that was super spicy - do you by any chance know how to make a spicy sauce as an add on to the ramen?
Lo says
OK, 3 hours in, and it's looking great. I actually added in another foot for good measure, too. Thanks for still replying to this thread after so long!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lo, how long have you boiled the stock for after cleaning? If you're not using a pressure cooking it will take 6 hours, and the broth won't get really creamy until towards the end. Also, did you substitute any of the bones (i.e. did you use pork leg + hock + chicken)?
Kimchi says
Just made this and its sooo yummy! Thank you so much for the recipe. I once ate a Tonkotsu ramen that was super spicy - do you by any chance know how to make a spicy sauce as an add on to the ramen?
Lo says
Hey is it possible to scrub the bones too much? Because my second boil didn't result in the thick, opaque broth I'm supposed to get. It's very cloudy with collagen, but it's not a creamy white. I'll see how it looks after simmering for 5 hours...
Catherine Hollick says
Thanks for this wonderful recipe Mark! My friends loved the ramen and chasu 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
This makes enough for about 5-6 bowls of soup, so you should double this recipe. You'll also want to double (or triple) the chashu recipe depending on how much meat you want to put on each bowl of ramen.
Catherine Hollick says
I am going to attempt to make this recipe this Friday/Saturday, however, I am cooking for 10 guests... In terms of quantities in the ramen and chasu, which ingredients will need more? Thank you! 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Dave, I've never tried dropping just the skin in, but the that's the reason for the trotters in this soup. They're the most collagen rich cut of pork because of the skin and all the connective tissue and cartilage in them.
Dave says
Marc, Have you ever just dropped a small piece of pig skin with fat into a soup? I slipped one into a chicken stock I was making and I got the white 'fat' or collagen floating, after skimming, and also when I poured the soup out of the pot cold into containers, there were little mountains of white fat dotting the bottom of the pan. Read about this from the cookbook "Bones". So now I keep 3" squares of pig skin in the freezer to drop into soups. Adds the unctuousness to almost anything. Let me know what you think
bernardhsu says
You can cook Tori Ramen (Chicken Ramen) instead of Tonkotsu Ramen then... Marc actually had made this Tori Ramen recipe
https://norecipes.com/blog/chicken-ramen-recipe/
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Gina, I'm glad you liked it! Yep, I was on Grill it a few years ago, but they're always playing reruns:-)
Gina says
finally had the time to make it..it's a lot of work (am no expert chef) but it turned out awesome!! thanks so much, marc! my husband (who was also missing ippudo ramen) loved it so much he asked me to make it again soon (o-oh!) i think i saw you guesting at bobby flay's "grilling it..." show too? wow im one huge fan now! 😀
Anthony M says
Marc, thanks for the response. Guess I do have good stock then...yippee. The tahini brand I'd use is named Sadaf; 100% pure sesame. I'm certain the bitter taste was my fault. I think I did not stir the tahini well enough before adding to the stock. I'd just tried again and it's no longer bitter.
Marty says
Bookmarked! - Mos def gonna try this one weekend!
Marc Matsumoto says
Sorry to hear you're having problems. When you're not using a pressure cooker, the stock will evaporate and you need to add water, but it's really strange that you only ended up with 4 cups of stock using a pressure cooker. You should be able to add some water to the stock to thin it out. The gelatin consistency is a good thing. It means that you got a lot of collagen out of the cartilage and connective tissue and is what gives the stock richness. The soup should not taste bitter though. What brand of tahini did you use?
Anthony M says
Browsed this recipe on and off for the past 3 months. Ordered a pressure cooker and gave it a try this past weekend. Firstly, after the long cooking process I ended up with only about 4 cups; when I put it in the fridge, it was a texture of gelo. The stock was a bit dark but from reading comments below, this is expectecd till the tahini is added. I added the tahini and the color was lighter but not as pictured on this site. The worst part was that the soup tasted bitter 🙁 I tasted the tahini "as is" and it was bitter. I've never had tahini before so is it suppose to be bitter?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Austin, the fatback is kind of along the lines of adding butter to a French style sauce at the very end. It adds body and richness that's a little different from the richness that comes from cooking the marrow fat for hours, so I would keep the two separate. As for cooking the bones, it should be at a constant strong simmer/low boil (not a rolling boil, not a gentle simmer) as it needs the agitation to keep the fat emulsified with the stock. If you use a pressure cooker, this will happen automatically, but if you're using a pot, you'll need to adjust the temperature and add water as it evaporates. You'll also need to triple the cooking time.
Austin872 says
Thanks for the reply Marc!
Guess I was too meticulous 🙂 i'll refrain from cleaning out the marrow next time and simply brush around the bone! do you recommend cooking the fatback (or fat in my case) as the bones are cooking to get some of that creaminess early on?
Also, while the bones are cooking should I have it on a constant rolling boil or the lowest setting?
It does help Marc, i'll have plenty more questions, but i'm not allowed back in the kitchen for a while since I apparently wasted a good 10 hours of gas 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Austin, thanks for the note! I guess there is a such thing as being too thorough:-) The soup being watery was most likely due to removing all the marrow. The fat (from the marrow) emulsifying with the water while boiling is what gives tonkotsu its rich flavor and cloudy color. It's good that you removed the blood, but next time leave the marrow. It should have still been pretty rich though from the collagen coming out of the hocks though so I'm not sure what happened there. As for the pork fat, I've never tried with unsalted pork fat, but it should still melt if you cut it fine enough. If you're having trouble getting it small, try freezing the fat first. Each piece of fat should be around 1/16" of an inch in diameter (i.e. it needs to be finely minced). I hope that helps!
Austin872 says
Hi Marc,
Stupid me, while cleaning the bones I decided to use a chopstick to clean out any red stuff, which includes the marrow in the bones, was this a bad idea?
Actually I know it was a bad idea because the broth ended up watery and brown, is this because i cleaned out the marrow in the bones? Also, it didnt particularly taste like tonkotsu, it was more like one of those pork hock stews 🙁
In the end, I also had trouble with melting down the pork fat, I couldnt find salted fatback so I just got mine fresh, have you got any tips in this area?
Marc Matsumoto says
While many things benefit from low and slow cooking, ramen stock is not one of them. The simmering action helps keep the fat and stock emulsified, creating the creamy soup. If the heat is too low, the fat will just render out and float to the top and you'll get a brown soup at the bottom.
Gina says
Hi Marc! Thanks so much for this recipe! I miss ipuddo's ramen in Japan I will definitely try this out! Can I use a slow cooker instead of a pressure cooker?
yurfavmistake says
OMG this was the best ramen I've ever made
yurfavmistake says
OMG this was the best ramen I've ever made
ami says
thanks so much for sharing. reading your recipes makes me want to try it out too. although the process looks difficult, as long as the end result is good, i don't mind the work. your blog is great!
Yogicfoodie says
Hi again Marc,
I finally was able to put together the ramen last night. Needless to say, my two toddlers and hubby gobbled up (two bowls each!) and requested that we have it again tonight.
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe. I was able to follow it precisely and everything turned out just as it should be. (I did soak & drained the bones and trotter in the cold water for about half a day to get the blood out before cooking.) Everyone dug in before I was able to take any pictures. I'm gonna try again tonight.
Since I didn't dare making the noodles from scratch, I ended up using thin wanton noodles (egg noodles) instead.
So glad I made the double batch of the broth. This was one of my most labor intensive cooking I've done in a while and it was totally worth it!
Now my dreaming days Ippudo ramen is over. I'm so glad I found your website and will be visiting often soon!
Your mapo tofu recipe is calling me~~ I haven't had it since grade school back in Korea, and I haven't found a recipe that I fell in love with yet. T.T
Thank you so so much!
Marc Matsumoto says
The photo is of the finished soup (including tahini and fat, which lighten the color of the soup), so your base should be a darker color. As for the frying oil, I usually keep it and use it to saute veggies etc in it. It does retain the flavor of the things you fried in it and adds some great flavor to other foods. The mayu should keep for a few months if you put it in a sealed container in the fridge, but you'll be surprised at how useful it is as an additive to other foods (add to soups, stews, dressings, marinades or toss with pasta with parmesan cheese) and it probably won't last that long.
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I guess cooking it without a lid would lead to more liquid evaporating, so the soup would concentrate faster than cooking it with a lid (though with less stock at the end). I'll give it a try next time. as for the color, the photos are all of the soup after the tahini and fat have been added, which lighten the color of the soup. One of these days I'll take a photo of the base stock, which should be a beige color.
Yogicfoodie says
Hi again Marc,
Thank you so much! My stock is all done and cooling down at this moment.
I guess i didn't skim off enough fat. The color came out a bit darker than the photo above and there about 1/8' of fat layer at the top. I'll remove it once it's completely cooled.
Gotta make mayu tonight.
A question for you. Is there anything I can do with the oil I caramelized the veg. with?
It reminded me of extra virgin olive oil I infuse with basil or other herbs, but I wasn't sure if this veggi oil will be usable. It certainly smells nice though..
Also, how long can I keep mayu in the fridge before its fragrance is effected?
Thank you so much Marc, I'll take a pic. of a bowl tomorrow dinner!
mono says
Hi Marc,
I tried this and it worked out pretty well. The dough was painful to process, but once I managed to thin the stubborn thing enough to be cut by the Spaghetti attachment, the noodles were great! Next time I won't use a cover for the stock though. I don't normally use a cover when I make Chinese chicken&pork stock, this time I did and it turned out to be much less creamy/sticky, which was unexpected because for my normal stock I use mostly chicken parts (about 1kg necks 1kg carcasses and wings) and about 3/4kg cut trotters. Much less bone & marrow than I used here (1kg cut pork bones, 1kg chicken carcasses, 2 lengthwise cut trotters), and still the stock ended up much less creamy, even though I'm normally cooking my Chinese stock for only about 2h. So I think it was because of cooking it with a lid, at least it felt like this when I was cooking. Another question, how did you up with the whiteish color? Adding caramelized garlic and onion immediately turned my stock brown, as expected. Not a problem at all, I didn't expect it to be any different but I'm curious as it looks nice! Chashu was really nice too, good idea to use cheeks, using spareribs tonight (the fact that I'm having the same Ramen 2 days in a row shows you they turned out really well 🙂 )
mono says
Hi Marc,
I tried this and it worked out pretty well. The dough was painful to process, but once I managed to thin the stubborn thing enough to be cut by the Spaghetti attachment, the noodles were great! Next time I won't use a cover for the stock though. I don't normally use a cover when I make Chinese chicken&pork stock, this time I did and it turned out to be much less creamy/sticky, which was unexpected because for my normal stock I use mostly chicken parts (about 1kg necks 1kg carcasses and wings) and about 3/4kg cut trotters. Much less bone & marrow than I used here (1kg cut pork bones, 1kg chicken carcasses, 2 lengthwise cut trotters), and still the stock ended up much less creamy, even though I'm normally cooking my Chinese stock for only about 2h. So I think it was because of cooking it with a lid, at least it felt like this when I was cooking. Another question, how did you up with the whiteish color? Adding caramelized garlic and onion immediately turned my stock brown, as expected. Not a problem at all, I didn't expect it to be any different but I'm curious as it looks nice! Chashu was really nice too, good idea to use cheeks, using spareribs tonight (the fact that I'm having the same Ramen 2 days in a row shows you they turned out really well 🙂 )
Marc Matsumoto says
Doubling the recipe should not increase the cooking time provided the bones are still cut to the same size. For the garlic, I just mean to trim off the stem and root part, the head should still be more or less whole and the individual cloves should not be peeled. You can kind of see it in the bottom right corner of the picture of the veggies frying. Good luck!
Marc Matsumoto says
Honestly, I think 20 hours is excessive. Basically at the point the bones are crumbling you're not going to get any more flavor out of them. Also, I've found that over cooking the stock makes it taste like canned meat. If you're using trotters and leg bones, you should be able to get a good stock at the specified length of time (triple if you're not using a pressure cooker).
As for the fatback, fresh should be fine. Just make sure it's minced very small so it renders quickly and emulsifies with the soup.
Regarding the chashu, if you're findiing it's still tough because of fat and connective tissue (i.e. gristle), it will benefit from cooking longer. If it's tough and starting to dry out (i.e. no fat left and no connective tissue), it's because of the cut of meat didn't have enough fat to begin with and cooking it longer will only make it tougher.
Hope that helps!
Mugen says
Hi Marc,
A lot of people cook ramen soup for very long hours like 20hours or even longer.
Do you think cook the bones longer the better it taste?
And I just want to make sure about the salted fat back.
I couldn't find salted fat back, but I get the fat back directly from my butcher (fresh not salted).
Does it make any different?
Last question: the chashu I made still don't have the feeling like melting in the mouth.
I cook the chashu for one hour and 20 minutes. Do you think 2hours cook can make it softer?
Thank you.
Yogicfoodie says
Hi again Marc,
I am on a quest to make my replica of Ippudo ramen. After having it everyday for a week, and now am back at home, away from my addiction pot, gotta make my own.
(I think they must pour in some magic dust in their broth or something...)
Chashu is done, my trotters are being defrosted in the fridge, and I'll be picking up the chicken bones and the pork leg bones from my butcher shop tomorrow.
I've read your recipies above and one for the miso ramen at least ten times, and am so dying to make this.
Couple of questions for you...
If I'm doubling the recipe, how long should I cook for? 10 hrs. or is it longer the better?
When you say 1 small head garlic trimmed but whole, you mean 1 head of garlic peeled, and trimmed, but not smashed or sliced, am I correct?
I don't mean to be nit-picky, but I MUST succeed, a failure is not an option this time!
I'll let you know how this turns out.
Jeff says
Hi Marc. Thank you for this site and thank you for this recipe. I'd been wandering in the wilderness creating flat, uninspired, brown soup which lacked the essence of what makes ramen delicious. When I read your recipe, I got really excited and got to work on assembling the ingredients.
I followed the recipe very closely (which I never do)and took it slow. It turned out AWESOME (and was even better the next day!)
I invited my Japanese ex-pat workmate over to try it and it went over super well.
The only thing that proved daunting was that the pork cheeks I picked up still had the skin on them. It was difficult to get them trimmed up an thus the chasu in the soup was a bit fatty.
I can't wait to give it another try.
Yogicfoodie says
Hi again Marc,
I am on a quest to make my replica of Ippudo ramen. After having it everyday for a week, and now am back at home, away from my addiction pot, gotta make my own.
(I think they must pour in some magic dust in their broth or something...)
Chashu is done, my trotters are being defrosted in the fridge, and I'll be picking up the chicken bones and the pork leg bones from my butcher shop tomorrow.
I've read your recipies above and one for the miso ramen at least ten times, and am so dying to make this.
Couple of questions for you...
If I'm doubling the recipe, how long should I cook for? 10 hrs. or is it longer the better?
When you say 1 small head garlic trimmed but whole, you mean 1 head of garlic peeled, and trimmed, but not smashed or sliced, am I correct?
I don't mean to be nit-picky, but I MUST succeed, a failure is not an option this time!
I'll let you know how this turns out.
Jeff says
Hi Marc. Thank you for this site and thank you for this recipe. I'd been wandering in the wilderness creating flat, uninspired, brown soup which lacked the essence of what makes ramen delicious. When I read your recipe, I got really excited and got to work on assembling the ingredients.
I followed the recipe very closely (which I never do)and took it slow. It turned out AWESOME (and was even better the next day!)
I invited my Japanese ex-pat workmate over to try it and it went over super well.
The only thing that proved daunting was that the pork cheeks I picked up still had the skin on them. It was difficult to get them trimmed up an thus the chasu in the soup was a bit fatty.
I can't wait to give it another try.
Thomas Abraham says
OMG...I finally found an authentic ramen receipe. This is just amazing.
Marilia says
OMG...I finally found an authentic ramen receipe. This is just amazing.
Rikke Rorbak says
Hi again, Mark!
Just wanted to let you know that my Japanese friend were VERY happy to eat the tonkotsu I made!I will do that again, for sure!Thanks so much!
Rikke Rorbak says
After having been in Japan, I'll never eat sushi in Denmark again; the quality is too low, the fishes are too few and the price is WAY too high (if you make it yourself, the price is OK, but if eating out, it's like 4 times the Japanese prices).
Marc Matsumoto says
Crosswise should be fine. I'm guessing it was the lack of trotters then. Keep in mind that the soup will be more like a creamy beige color until you add the tahini and fatback.
Your story reminds me of being asked by a host family to make sushi one night in Hesingor. I had to go to Copenhagen just to get sushi rice, seasoned it with wine vinegar and used things like lumpfish caviar and gravad laks till fill it.
Rikke Rorbak says
Not in half, length-wise. I thought that might have been the problem, but the marrow seemed to have been cooked out of the bones, though. I don't know.
Thanks for your quick reply!
Although not white, I've got myself a very good-tasting broth! I am making tonkotsu ramen for some Japanese exchange students, and they are really looking forward to it, as Denmark really isn't the place to get Japanese food 🙂
I'll get some trotters, cook a supplementary broth and add it to what I already have.
Thanks again, and thank you so much for all your recipes!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Rikke, were the leg bones cut? The marrow needs to be exposed. Also, as stated in the update, it's important to use both legs and trotters to get the creamy color.
Rikke Rorbak says
I don't get it... I've cooked my stock for 20 hours, but it's not white.cloudy 🙁
I have almost a whole pig's head, several legs (with marrow) - though no trotters. Is the lack of trotters what causes it to to be white and cloudy?
Missbecki says
Well it's perfect. I'm so happy with how this came out I will be tking the
Makings around to my elderly friends house and cooking it for her.
Thank you for sharing this.
Becki.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/jfans/bdfb4f83.jpg
Missbecki says
Great now to buy the ingredients!!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Absolutely! I usually make this on a weekend and divide up the base and freeze it. One thing you should know, because of the amount of collagen in the soup, it will look very strange if you defrost it (like a sponge with water coming out of it). Don't worry about this, it will all melt when you heat it up on the stove. I usually skip the defrosting step and stick the frozen block of soup in a pot and just heat it up directly.
Missbecki says
Hi Marc,
Can the soup stock be frozen, I want to make it this weekend for myself and an Ederly Japanese friend but don't want to waste any of the stock.
Thanks
Becki
Marc Matsumoto says
It's been a while since I've had it, but I think it's miso, doubanjiang, a lot of ground toasted sesame seeds, maybe some garlic.
fata w says
Hi Marc, thank you so much for your post. I'm planning to make it this weekend. Do you by any chance know how to make ippudo's secret miso paste that they add into their akamaru modern?
DP says
Hey, thanks for the great post. I've greatly missed this ramen ever since I came back from a long stay in Japan. I can get it at a place about 5 hours away, but not regularly! So I was really excited when I saw this. I immediately made it, almost just as you describe (on the stove) and the results were amazing! I cut on a few ingredients and modified to fit my taste, but boy was it worth it! Piping hot tonkotsu is just what the doctor ordered! You are one of the few sites with recipes for this, and one of the best at that! Thank you again for allowing me some delicious, dearly missed comfort food. You're not crazy for trying this--you're crazy if you don't! It takes a bit of time, but what's the issue with leaving a pot on the stove for a few hours while you do other things?
Once again--AMAZING. Thank god for norecipes.com
DP
Jon says
thank you.. i'll keep all those in mind on the next attempt 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
The stock will not be perfectly white. It's more like a beige that turns a cream color when you add the other ingredients. Honestly, having perfectly white broth is not a prerequisite for Tonkotsu broth. I think it's more important that it tastes good.
If you still think your broth was browner than it should have been, my guess is that the problem might have been the length of the first boil ( there may still have been some raw blood that leeched into the soup), or that you missed some of the scum that floats to the surface before affixing the lid to the pressure cooker. You really need to keep skimming until there's no foam floating to the top.
I hope this helps for next time!
Jon says
Hi Marc,
Thanks for posting the recipe, i tried it last weekend but failed! I have had Tonkotsu once in Vancouver and it was incredible but I live in London and haven't tracked it down here. Sadly i could only find pigs feet (which i saw used in another recipe instead of pork bones) so i used those but the stock came out brown 🙁
I read online that you need to keep the water boiling throughout to get the white creamy stock, would you agree? I need to track down some pork leg bone and try again.
Thanks
Lee says
I've always loved eating ramen but I never really tried cooking one. I always go to ichiran ramen in Ueno on weekends.
Lee says
I've always loved eating ramen but I never really tried cooking one. I always go to ichiran ramen in Ueno on weekends.
Sarah says
That would be great! Thank you!
Ra Ordonio says
I will try this weekend, I got a week off, its hard to find this type of ramen in the philippines, in Kobe i eat lots of this type of ramen...
Ra Ordonio says
I will try this weekend, I got a week off, its hard to find this type of ramen in the philippines, in Kobe i eat lots of this type of ramen...
Lilian_squirrel says
Weird. Mine doesn't seem to have a distinctive flavor. It only tastes a bit like all of those things. I tried using it to make the soup anyway- it didn't turn out well.
I noticed the soup when refrigerated was gelatinous but quickly heated up to liquid again, so the consistency seemed okay... I'm not sure what went wrong.
Marc Matsumoto says
I've never tried it before. That said you can make a pretty good vegan ramen by making a good dashi (with stuff like kombu, celery, leeks, fried ginger and garlic, fresh shiitake etc), then mixing it with soy milk, sake, and soy sauce or miso. I'll post a recipe at some point.
cnusara says
I finally tried this today. It is delicious. My friends said it's better than Ippudo. We also made our own chashu and ramen, using your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing. It's very clear you are passionate about your dishes 🙂
cnusara says
I finally tried this today. It is delicious. My friends said it's better than Ippudo. We also made our own chashu and ramen, using your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing. It's very clear you are passionate about your dishes 🙂
Sarah says
Hello,
Have you cracked the Ippudo vegetarian miso wasabi broth yet? I would love to get your feedback on how to replicate it!
Thanks,
Sarah
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi, I'm not sure what you mean by "taste". If you mean salt, then no the base shouldn't have any salt, that gets added later when you make the soup. If you mean flavor, then it should taste like pork, garlic ginger and onions.
Marc Matsumoto says
Great technique! That's how I prepare my ajitsuke tamago as well. Thanks for sharing!
Lilian_squirrel says
Out of curiosity, is the base supposed to taste like anything? because mine is a bit too dark, and doesn't have a taste. A wonderful smell, but no taste.
Will says
Hey lihar, the eggs are pretty easy to be done !
Room temperature egg, pierce the bottom of the egg with a needle (you actually dont have to do that at all, but i think the peeling is easier). Boil some water, drop the egg in water and keep it in for 6mn. (add time for harder holk). Drop the eggs in iced water to stop the cooking process.
Peel the egg and let it sit in a soy mixture .... I always change the mix 🙂 check mark's chashu recipe for a good base. I warm up the mix for 30 seconds in the microwave, pour into a zip bag with the egg in it. Couple of hours are enough to get the flavors in and change the color of the egg 🙂
Hope it helps !
Lihar7 says
Will, may I know how to make the hardboiled egg you showed in the picture? Thanks
will says
and the meat taste more gamy actually .... not sure if i like that ! cheeks next time 😉
will says
i have used 3 carcasses ( small one ) and 3 or 4 chicken feet, cannt tell you if it changed the flavor but my lips kept sticking for hours ! and the broth solidifies quite fast ... i mean that if i let your bowl untouched for couple of minutes, a film will appears on top of the liquid. wont used them next time and check the differences
will says
thanks god ! i ve been expecting a creamy white broth everytime i open the pressure cooker ! always get milker with the tahini and pork fat at the end anyway 😉
When you say trotters cut in half lengthwise, do you mean through the bone and expose the marrow or between the bones to separate them ?
i havent been able to find the leg bones so i used 2 hocks, remove the meat of them and cut them in half. i have been using the fat off the hocks with salt and garlic to replace the backfat in the recipe. do you see anything wrong with the hocks ?? do you think the fat is much different than the one you are using ?
i have been using the hocks meat for the chashu recipes as well, final result is not as bad as i though it would ! no waste in my kitchen hehe.
Pic of my second try
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear it! That picture is of the finished soup with tahini and fatback added (you can see the little white bits of fat floating on top).
will says
Hey there !
second attempt ... and getting better ! just a way too much garlic (yes its possible ! )and a bit too dark !
Marc, just wondering, the picture of the broth (2 pictures up) is the final product with tahini and pork fat or the strain liquid from the pressur cooker ??
ty !
will says
Hey there !
second attempt ... and getting better ! just a way too much garlic (yes its possible ! )and a bit too dark !
Marc, just wondering, the picture of the broth (2 pictures up) is the final product with tahini and pork fat or the strain liquid from the pressur cooker ??
ty !
Marc Matsumoto says
To be honest I'm not sure. You'll get a lot of collagen (the stuff that makes the soup creamy) out of chicken feet, but I'm not sure how much flavor you'll get out of them. Try it out and let us know how it goes.
MJ says
Hi Marc,
How about chickens feet as a replacement for chicken bones?
Karen Lai says
Hi Marc,
Thank you so much for the recipe. I'm going to make it this Sunday.
Wish me luck.
Karen Lai says
Hi Marc,
Thank you so much for the recipe. I'm going to make it this Sunday.
Wish me luck.
Richard Attar says
Hello Mark!
Like Will, I've also kept this recipe saved and looked at often for a few months. I finally made it last night for my family! It was excellent!
I wanted to thank you, as there are no recipes on the net like this at all! I love to cook, and am a recent ramen enthusiast, and this recipe is a lifer! Thank you again!
Marc Matsumoto says
Good luck. As for the chasu, to be honest I can't remember what I used, it looks a little like pork belly, but I sometimes buy transglutaminase bonded cheek meet that ends up looking a bit like well marbled belly (complete with layers of fat).
Will says
Thank you for your tips Marc ! Cannt wait to be sunday to give it a go 😉
One last thing, the Chashu on the top picture isnt made of cheek, is it ??
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Will, thanks for your comment. 1) You can certainly roast the bones and it will change the flavor profile, however if you roast the bones, your soup will not turn out white. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the Maillard reaction will make the broth taste more complex, but the resulting brown soup will not be a classic tonkotsu broth. 2) There's no right or wrong way to make ramen, but traditionally the broth is extracted from the bones and then the seasoning is added afterwards. 3) The bones can only be used once. You're literally cooking the marrow out of the bones, so you won't get much of a stock out of them the second go around. 4) typically tonkotsu broths do not include any kind of seafood. That said, other styles of ramen such as shio(salt) and shoyu(soy sauce) use seafood broths so you're welcome to experiment with these combinations. Although not traditionally added to Tokotsu broth, I've recently started throwing in some kombu because it adds umami without changing the flavor as adding dried bonito or shiitake would do. 5) "black garlic" is usually garlic that's been fermented for a few weeks in a warm place. This is a different reaction than the the caramelization and maillard reaction that takes place from burning garlic, so the flavors will be different. That said, I think black garlic may make an interesting addition to miso ramen as the nutty flavors would really compliment each other. Mayu is made by literally burning the garlic, if you eat it straight it is quite bitter and burnt tasting, but adding just a little to a bowl of creamy tonkotsu ramen is divine.
Will says
i did use spacing and Paragraphs !
Will says
Hi Marc !i have kept your recipe at arm reach for few months now, always trying to get more information from different websites but i am getting eager to get started ! few questions for you before i get to work and maybe you or some one reading this will be able to help ;)1) i have seen some people roasting the bones before using them. How would the flavors differs from yours recipe ? if roasting, we shouldnt blanched the bones right ? (we want the fat and remaining meat getting roasted/caramalised ?) ? could/should chicken bones get roasted too ?2) i was thinking to use a whole chicken, glaze it with something semilar as the braising liquid of the chashu and then use it for the stock .... is that too early to add those flavors the broth ? should i first focus and getting a well balanced liquid and then add the right flavors before serving ?3) how long can I use the bones for ? how many "brews" can i expect to yield with the same amount of bones ? when should the bones be discarded ? for health reasons, can the bones be refrozen after use ?4) Have you tried to infuse the water with kombu, shitake and/or dry fish when starting the process ?5) the restaurant i work at, is using cloves of blackgarlic: extremely slowy roasted garlic, they are actually getting confied .... i was thinking to use those to make the Mayu. but do the "burnt flavors" adding something extra to the bowl that i am missing ? hope you will find some time to share some tips with us ! If i dont hear from you before i get started i will post some of my discoveries !PeaceWill
Will says
Hi Marc !i have kept your recipe at arm reach for few months now, always trying to get more information from different websites but i am getting eager to get started ! few questions for you before i get to work and maybe you or some one reading this will be able to help ;)1) i have seen some people roasting the bones before using them. How would the flavors differs from yours recipe ? if roasting, we shouldnt blanched the bones right ? (we want the fat and remaining meat getting roasted/caramalised ?) ? could/should chicken bones get roasted too ?2) i was thinking to use a whole chicken, glaze it with something semilar as the braising liquid of the chashu and then use it for the stock .... is that too early to add those flavors the broth ? should i first focus and getting a well balanced liquid and then add the right flavors before serving ?3) how long can I use the bones for ? how many "brews" can i expect to yield with the same amount of bones ? when should the bones be discarded ? for health reasons, can the bones be refrozen after use ?4) Have you tried to infuse the water with kombu, shitake and/or dry fish when starting the process ?5) the restaurant i work at, is using cloves of blackgarlic: extremely slowy roasted garlic, they are actually getting confied .... i was thinking to use those to make the Mayu. but do the "burnt flavors" adding something extra to the bowl that i am missing ? hope you will find some time to share some tips with us ! If i dont hear from you before i get started i will post some of my discoveries !PeaceWill
Erik Haqvinsson says
Will you ever make shoyu ramen? 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Couple of possibilities here. 1) Personal preference - I tend to like lots of garlic in my ramen (I usually put a spoonful of raw garlic in even at ramen restaurants). 2) Size of the cloves - your garlic cloves may have been a lot bigger than mine. My suggestion would be cut back on the garlic to suit your tastes, you could even leave it out if you want as there's caramelized garlic in the base and if you're making mayu, there will be garlic there too.
Russ Paulsen says
Trying to recreate what we had in LA and this all looked right. The base was delicious, but the finished soup was way, way overwhelmed by garlic. Do you really mean one raw clove per bowl?
Russ Paulsen says
Trying to recreate what we had in LA and this all looked right. The base was delicious, but the finished soup was way, way overwhelmed by garlic. Do you really mean one raw clove per bowl?
chefgodzilla says
salted pork fat is not available..only pork fat or actual "salt pork"
what do you suggest?
Marc Matsumoto says
The gelatin is from the melted collagen in the soup and is what gives it the richness (i.e. it's a good thing). When you reheat it, it will melt. The fridge is fine for up to a week, if you intend to keep it longer, freeze it.
Yooniverse says
I guess I over caramelized it. The stock was looking pretty white and scum-free when I added the ginger, garlic and onions just before I pressure cooked it. My definition of caramelizing must be different than yours. I'll try browning it lighter.
Also, my base gelatinized overnight. Was that to be expected? How do I store it and reuse when it turns into a hard gelatin?
Marc Matsumoto says
The broth will be a light beige color. It will get lighter when you add the fatback and tahini. If your broth turned out very brown even after adding the tahini and fatback, it's possible the onions were over caramelized or there was still some blood left in the bones.
Yooniverse says
If you add the carmelized ginger, garlic and onions, doesn't that turn the broth brown and not milky white as described/depicted? That's what happened to me when I tried out this recipe.
Hikari Frozen says
allrite .. tks.. oh well i am a week behind due to work .. gonna try it out this thursday HOPEFULLY before new year.. haha..
Marc Matsumoto says
It really depends on the region of Japan whether seafood is added to the broth or not. Kanto style Shoyu ramen often includes seafood as does Shio, and Miso ramen. Traditionally Tonkotsu ramen (Kyushu style) does not include seafood in the broth.
Personally I like the combo of chicken, pork, and caramelized vegetables to make a tonkotsu broth. I look at making ramen a bit like composing a song for a symphony. The pork provides the bass (tuba, bass, etc), the chicken provides the treble (flute, violin, etc), and the caramelized veggies provide everything in between (french horn, cello, etc).
I'm not sure where you get the impression that there's no umami in this soup, the pork or chicken on its own would be plenty, but it also has caramelized onions, garlic and ginger, and that's just for the base. The soup includes braising liquid from the chashu, tahini (sesame has tons of umami compounds), and mayu. The fatback isn't there for flavor, it's mostly for richness.
Xi Xi Yuu says
your realization was right on the mark. the pork broth is almost flavorless even if it is a glistening gelatinous white. when we make the batches and someone tastes it, its just for texture and richness (and I won't lie, a whiter broth seems to make ppl think it tastes better and they'll pay more...NOPE!). If u were to put the noodles in that white broth and not season it with Tare, konbu dashi, or something else. (which you have here actually made "Mayu Ramen in tonkatsu broth") - it would taste so bland and awful.
Traditionally the MSG flavoring comes from konbu and dried shrimp and sardines for saltiness and smokiness. This becomes konbu dashi (and where the natural umami flavor comes from). On top of that, they will ladle some kind of seasoning base like salt solution with mirin and sake or soy sauce with sesame oils etc etc so many possibilities-flavor plus more umami.
Which is why I am sort of surprised you dont mention konbu or soy product anywhere in this recipe..(did you add MSG or chicken boillon because there would have been almost no umami, though the fatback would have helped assuming it was the salted kind.)
I think if you keep digging down this rabbit hole you'll find that ramen is something so complicated and yet if u think about it, just noodles in a soup. If you grasp the elements of this particular soup (stock + umami agent + flavoring agent + alkaline noodles + meat and toppings = WIN), and you dont overcook the noodles then you can master any kind of noodle soup. Pho in my opinion is just as time consuming but not as scrutinized if u mess it up. Chinese noodles soups vary 100 times more than ramen, but everyone is not so picky about the parameters.
Xi Xi Yuu says
your realization was right on the mark. the pork broth is almost flavorless even if it is a glistening gelatinous white. when we make the batches and someone tastes it, its just for texture and richness (and I won't lie, a whiter broth seems to make ppl think it tastes better and they'll pay more...NOPE!). If u were to put the noodles in that white broth and not season it with Tare, konbu dashi, or something else. (which you have here actually made "Mayu Ramen in tonkatsu broth") - it would taste so bland and awful.
Traditionally the MSG flavoring comes from konbu and dried shrimp and sardines for saltiness and smokiness. This becomes konbu dashi (and where the natural umami flavor comes from). On top of that, they will ladle some kind of seasoning base like salt solution with mirin and sake or soy sauce with sesame oils etc etc so many possibilities-flavor plus more umami.
Which is why I am sort of surprised you dont mention konbu or soy product anywhere in this recipe..(did you add MSG or chicken boillon because there would have been almost no umami, though the fatback would have helped assuming it was the salted kind.)
I think if you keep digging down this rabbit hole you'll find that ramen is something so complicated and yet if u think about it, just noodles in a soup. If you grasp the elements of this particular soup (stock + umami agent + flavoring agent + alkaline noodles + meat and toppings = WIN), and you dont overcook the noodles then you can master any kind of noodle soup. Pho in my opinion is just as time consuming but not as scrutinized if u mess it up. Chinese noodles soups vary 100 times more than ramen, but everyone is not so picky about the parameters.
Marc Matsumoto says
QUESTIONS:
1.can i remove the meat part of the pig leg bones and just use the bones ?I usually just buy bones, which has a little meat clinging too them. There's no need to remove the remaining meat, but you also don't need to get a full roast with all the meat on the bones. 2.Which part of the chickens do i need to obtain the chicken bones ?
I usually just ask my butcher for chicken carcases, it's a by product when they make breast and thigh fillets. It's not super important which parts of the chickens you use.
1. Do i use the same water for the next part ?
Yes
1. Do i have to check and add water on my pressure cooker ?
You shouldn't have to. Just make sure the bones are well covered when you affix the lid. If you're concerned, you can quick release the lid half-way through and check the water level. Also if you don't have a pressure cooker, just triple the cooking time (about 5 hours).
Hikari Frozen says
wow this is a must do receipe for me..
just need to verify somethings before i start off hopefully this weekend.. Assuming i have a pressure
cooker
Tonkotsu Base
pig trotters -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
pig leg bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
chicken bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
QUESTIONS:
1.can i remove the meat part of the pig leg bones and just use the bones ?
2.Which part of the chickens do i need to obtain the chicken bones ?
AFTER cleaning all of them.. I just add them all with water and bring to boil while removing any
visible foam for around 30mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i use the same water for the next part ?
AFTER that i add Ginger, Garlic, Onion and then close pressure cooker lid and cook for around
1hr 45mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i have to check and add water on my pressure cooker ?
Hikari Frozen says
wow this is a must do receipe for me..
just need to verify somethings before i start off hopefully this weekend.. Assuming i have a pressure
cooker
Tonkotsu Base
pig trotters -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
pig leg bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
chicken bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
QUESTIONS:
1.can i remove the meat part of the pig leg bones and just use the bones ?
2.Which part of the chickens do i need to obtain the chicken bones ?
AFTER cleaning all of them.. I just add them all with water and bring to boil while removing any
visible foam for around 30mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i use the same water for the next part ?
AFTER that i add Ginger, Garlic, Onion and then close pressure cooker lid and cook for around
1hr 45mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i have to check and add water on my pressure cooker ?
Hikari Frozen says
wow this is a must do receipe for me..
just need to verify somethings before i start off hopefully this weekend.. Assuming i have a pressure
cooker
Tonkotsu Base
pig trotters -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
pig leg bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
chicken bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
QUESTIONS:
1.can i remove the meat part of the pig leg bones and just use the bones ?
2.Which part of the chickens do i need to obtain the chicken bones ?
AFTER cleaning all of them.. I just add them all with water and bring to boil while removing any
visible foam for around 30mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i use the same water for the next part ?
AFTER that i add Ginger, Garlic, Onion and then close pressure cooker lid and cook for around
1hr 45mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i have to check and add water on my pressure cooker ?
Hikari Frozen says
wow this is a must do receipe for me..
just need to verify somethings before i start off hopefully this weekend.. Assuming i have a pressure
cooker
Tonkotsu Base
pig trotters -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
pig leg bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
chicken bones -> 15mins on boiling water(with pressure cooker and no lid)
QUESTIONS:
1.can i remove the meat part of the pig leg bones and just use the bones ?
2.Which part of the chickens do i need to obtain the chicken bones ?
AFTER cleaning all of them.. I just add them all with water and bring to boil while removing any
visible foam for around 30mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i use the same water for the next part ?
AFTER that i add Ginger, Garlic, Onion and then close pressure cooker lid and cook for around
1hr 45mins
QUESTION:
1. Do i have to check and add water on my pressure cooker ?
Nisalarasati says
The recipe looks great! I took up the challenge for making successful ramen as my Japanese friend told me it's almost impossible. However, pork is not really my favourite. Do you have other suggestions other than tonkotsu broth (or cow)? Maybe with chicken or fish and just taste as good? And if I am to use cow bone marrow, what kind of the seasonings you think would compliment the beefy taste? Thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
I've never tried it with chicken feet, but I do know that it is possible to overdo the collagen (I tried making it once with all trotters and it was too thick). The reason why I add the chicken bones is that it adds flavor and umami without adding too much richness. Since the feet is largely skin and cartilage it may upset the balance.
Alex says
I feel like trying to make this dish will prove to be my undoing, but I'm hugely thankful for the recipe all the same. For now, I just have a question: What if I use chicken feet instead of "just any" chicken bones? I ask because I happen to have them in the freezer. Would that put too much collagen in the tonkotsu base? I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that the trotters also make the base richer and more collagen-y, but there seems to be a point to your using a mix of leg bones and trotters. Substituting the leg bones for more trotters feels like something I should not try to do (however tricky the leg bones will be to get hold of), so I'm hesitating about the chicken feet as well.
Mugen says
Thanks for ur reply Marc.
Marc Matsumoto says
The noodles should be boiled as soon as they come off the pasta maker, otherwise they will dry out. If you need to keep them longer, dust them very liberally with flour and store them in the fridge. Unfortunately I haven't found a way to prevent the color from changing when you leave them in the fridge, but the texture doesn't seem to be affected too much.
Mugen says
Hi Marc,
As I noticed when I put my noodles in the room temperature for about 20 minutes, my noodles dry out and become crisp. Shouldn't it be the same texture like when it just being roll out? And if I keep my noodles in the fridge for later use ( like 1 or 2 days), the colour changed. Any suggestions for the noodles?
Thanks a lot.
susannah says
I have to say that I greatly appreciate all of your hard work and dedication to this AMAZING ramen. I lived in Japan for two years, and have yet to find a decent bowl of tonkotsu anywhere around me, so thank you x 1000 for doing this and sharing it!
Faylen says
HI Marc,
Thank you very much for this recipe. I will use it as a starting point for my own ramen adventures. I thought you might be amused to know that I carmelized the onions garlic and ginger in sesame oil and used that to make mayu (and saved the rest) It gave the mayu a wonderful sweet gingery aroma in addition to the burnt garlic that was really tasty. It might be worth more experimentation.
Mugen says
I tried making the noodles today, and I am happy with the result now. My problem was I put the water too much for the previous dough. I am using lye water instead of kansui.
Your recipe makes my family happy. Thanks to you.
By the way, you mentioned before that you wanna post your hakata style ramen here. I wonder how it is going? It would great if you can post it.
Thanks a lot.
Marc Matsumoto says
Ah okay, I don't like using MSG so don't include it in my recipes, but if you prefer the flavor, by all means add some. As for the noodles how long do you boil them for? Depending on how thick your noodles are you may need to decrease the cooking time. Lately ive been boiling for 30-40 seconds and letting them finish cooking in the soup while I add the toppings. Also, what kind of kansui are you using?
Mugen says
Vet shin is msg. It makes the soup sweet. I will try the fat back again. And I am using the fat back which is not salted, does it makes different? Coz I get it from the butcher, and he only has one without salted.
Marc, I have one more problem here. I always have my noodles not firm. And once I kept the rest of my noodles in the fridge, it turned out very sticky by tomorrow. Any suggestion?
Thanks a lot.
Marc Matsumoto says
By trimmed I mean to cut the stem part (top) off. This should expose all the garlic pieces to the oil and not only cook them through, they should be caramelized.
Marc Matsumoto says
The fat back needs to minced into very small pieces each piece should be no bigger than 1-2mm. At that size it should mostly melt into the soup. What is vet shin?
Mugen says
Hi Marc,
I tried your tonkatsu ramen, and at the last I put sesame seeds and finely minced fatback.
It turned out that the fatback didn't combine in the soup. It just in few small chunks form.
I wonder how your fatback can combine in soup?
And as I can see, you don't add vet shin in your soup. How can your soup has the sweet flavor?
I tried without vet shin and it just didn't has the sweetness.
For the noodles, can we put the dough in the fridge for several days before we cook it?
Thanks.
Wolfman200 says
Could you clarify what you meant by "1 small head garlic trimmed but whole" . Does this mean that you leave the papery outer layer on, fry up the whole thing and strain it out later? If so, then some of the garlic stays basically raw, right? Or maybe you take it apart but don't mince it? Thanks
Wolfman200 says
Could you clarify what you meant by "1 small head garlic trimmed but whole" . Does this mean that you leave the papery outer layer on, fry up the whole thing and strain it out later? If so, then some of the garlic stays basically raw, right? Or maybe you take it apart but don't mince it? Thanks
mcouperide says
I haven't gotten around to attempting your ramin recipe again, but been thinking about it recently.
I did manage to post a picture of my first attempt on my Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/17882417@N00/6226449147/in/photostream
Marc Matsumoto says
My guess is it's a mixture of soy sauce and concentrated pork broth. You can do something similar by making my Chashu ( https://norecipes.com/blog/2009/10/05/japanese-chashu-recipe/) and using the liquid to soak some soft boiled eggs in overnight.
Fcowie2 says
This looks fabulous -- that creamy pork stock! I'll definitely be making it. But our fave ramen joint also adds about 1-2 tbsp of what they call "soup base" to the bowl, in addition to the soup. (You can choose the amount: light, normal, heavy.) I'm asking about the soup base because the eggs they serve in the ramen are absolutely to die for, and I asked did they pickle them in miso, and the chef said they were pickled/soaked in the soup base. So now I'm wondering what that might be. The eggs aren't discolored as they would be if soaked in anything with soy. Still look like regular hard-boiled eggs, but smooth and salty to the taste. Any ideas? (The ramen joint is Shen Sen Gumi in LA, if anyone's wondering -- me & the kids try other places, but always end up back there.) Thanks.
chock says
I had two extra trotters and a large leg left laying around (a friend is shooting a pilot program she hopes to sell to Food Network, the program is about cut's of meat, pork belly being featured in the pilot program) so I am trying the recipe right now. I split the trotters in half and hacked (literately, hacksaw, cleaver and hammer) the bone to 4 pieces.
The chicken bones (whole carcass really) came from the leftovers from a whole chicken BBQ we had last night. I also added some extra goodies we had left over from the shoot: about 3 strips (1" x 1" x 3") of fatty pork meat and two 4" x 4" x 1.5" squares of pure pork belly fat. The garlic, ginger and onion carmelized and smelled great - but I accidentally deviated a bit: I chopped the onion instead of slicing (I was hopeful that some of the carmelized onion chunks would sneak into the final product). Also, I don't have a pressure cooker so everything is being done in just a normal pot.
Right now, the tonkotsu base has about 2 hours of simmering on the stove. My favorite ramen shops in San Francisco all pride themselves on letting the broth simmer for 48 hours. My plan is to do the same.
Marc Matsumoto says
If you click the link "Chashu" it will take you to the recipe.
Omar says
You mentioned "1 tablespoon strained braising liquid from chashu"
but forgot to include instructions on how to make it.
Marilia says
Awesome post! Very interesting read. I'm heading to a new Hakata Ramen shop in Torrance now. While I appreciate your diligent research and careful science, I am going to leave it to the experts. Still searching for the perfect bowl of ramen since returning from 7 years in Japan however. Have yet to find "my place." I may have to come back here and actually try out your findings.
sebastianho says
Thanks Marc! I'm going to try it again!
Marc Matsumoto says
That's fine, just mince it up and whisk it in at the end, when you emu Sift the fat in with the soup it makes it more white and more creamy.
sebastianho says
I couldn't find any salted pork fat. All I could find in my market was some cubes of pork fat. Dun think is what you have mention.
Thomas Abraham says
i think i only boiled it for about 30 mins, also, to my dismay that my friend secretly toss in a few carrots and scallions, could that be the factor to brown the soup as well?
Marc Matsumoto says
Just follow the recipe, it goes in at the very end.
Marc Matsumoto says
When you did it in the pressure cooker, did you boil it without the lid for about and hour and skim off the scum? Brown soup usually means some blood mixed into the soup.
Marilia says
Hi Marc! great post btw, i tried the soup base a month ago without the pressure cooker for 6 hours and the soup was light beige in color but today when i used pressure cooker for 5 hours the soup came out brown. The only difference i made between the 2 trials was instead of frying the vegetables, i roasted them in the oven. Do you think that was the main reason the soup wasnt beige? Or perhaps i overcooked the stock? I remember watching the Japanese tv shows the chefs usually cook the soup base over 24 hours so can we really overcook the soup?
thanks
sebastianho says
Marc, what should I do with the pork fat? Cook it and minced it?
Marc Matsumoto says
The collagen in the trotters make the broth more creamy. I use the whole trotters split in half. As for color, milky beige sounds about right. It doesn't get really white until you add the tahini and emulsify in the pork fat.
sebastianho says
Hi Marc! I've tried your recipe and have a few Qs. Why do u use trotters? can i use large pork bones instead? if I use trotters, which part is better? the front or the back? I've used the back today. After boiling for 6hrs, my base stock is milky brownish and not milky white. something wrong?
Heather says
(I mean 'gorged'. Though 'forged' does an apt job of conveying the epic effect it had on my psyche.)
Heather says
I just forged myself on a bowl of tonkotsu ramen at a little joint in Portland called Shogun Noodle. Funny thing, whenever I fall in love with a new (to me) Japanese good, it ends up being a specialty of Hakata. Must be those browner onions that give it the magic!
Buck says
Made this twice, first attempt was great, But second attempt Sucess. Luckily I have a great asian market here in dallas that had everything I needed! Thanks for the recipe Marc! I'm Truely inspired, And my house smells like a ramen shop almost every weekend!
Gordon says
My attempt didn't come out so good - but I'm going to try again soon. Any idea how to recreate the amazing ramen from ichiran (hakata tonkotsu) or tenkaippin (chicken)?
Ishume says
Excellent posting.
I have been searching for a good ramen recipe for many years...Just to see if I can entertain myself with this home cooked hearty soup and noodle. I have not used any fat back which, I believe, will thicken the soup considerably but I made the original stock thicker, which came from pork back and rib. Caramelized onion, onion and garlic mostly give the aroma and flavor to the soup as you mentioned.
Let me try with leg bones and fat back in the next time.
Again thx for the great posting.
Marc Matsumoto says
Fatback is a block of salted pork fat (you could also use italian
"lardo") think of it as ham made from the fat. It adds richness and
body to the soup at the end.
xnanodax says
Hey Marc 🙂 Thank you for another awesome recipe!
Does the fatback come from the stock? Or should I buy this?
Thank you so much!
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad you liked it! If you mince the fatback small it will almost
completely dissolve, but there will still be little specks of fat you
can see. The idea isn't to have fat floating on top, but to emulsify
it with the soup to make it richer.
Laura says
my girlfriends and i spent the entire afternoon making it and although it did not turn out as milky white as your picture and we only had 4 bowls of soup, we were really pleased with the results and happy to have another successful cooking project under our belts. I forgot to add some water after the straining the broth from the pressure cooker, so our broth was very rich and well seasoned. i used trotters, pork hocks and chicken wings for the bones. thanks for sharing your recipe! oh yes, is the fatback supposed to melt into the broth? or do they stay as little squares in the soup?
Laura says
Thanks for your response. I prefer to do it in the pressure cooker so it'll cut down on time. I might just have to use less water and add more water after straining the bones. I might do this as a project this weekend, and will let you know how it turns out!
Marc Matsumoto says
I think mine may have been an 8 qt, but I can't remember and I'm not
at home this week and next so I can't check. You can do this without a
pressure cooker but you'll need to triple the cooking time.
Laura says
Just curious - what size pressure cooker did you use? I have a 6 quart, but am concerned that it will not contain all those bones 🙂
Pascal says
Hello there!
I just wanted to tell you that I loved reading the story behind it, I loved reading how to make it and all. Problem is I'm sharing my kitchen with 7 other people; I'll have to wait till I get my own place (student now).
Anyway, I love reading your stuff, thank you 🙂
Take care
Marc Matsumoto says
To be honest I'm not entirely sure. Too many trotters may add too much
collagen and the soup may end up way to thick. I guess you could try
replacing the leg bones with half trotters half chicken bones.
Marc Matsumoto says
The tonkotsu base, won't be totally white, it will be a creamy beige
color. It won't turn as white as in the photo until you add the tahini
and fatback. Feel free to email me if that doesn't answer your
question.
Tlauver says
I haven't yet been able to find pork leg bones, but I've certainly found trotters. Would it okay to substitute more trotters for the leg bone, or would that throw off the flavor too much? Thanks! Awesome recipe 🙂
moriz says
Hello!
Thank you very much for this great recipe!
I'm trying to make tonkotsu ramen right now, and i've got a little difficulty to get this white colore of the stock. I used pork leg bones aswell as the pig trotters, cleaned the bones well, and skimmed any scum off the surface, but still after long time of cooking my stock is more brown in colore then white.
Do you have any idea what could i have done wrong?
Thanks for the reply and thanks again for this great recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
The leg meat is great for braising, so you could get the whole leg and
use the meat for something else. I'm pretty sure the cut I'm talking
about is the bone from the hind leg. Ham hocks are also part of the
leg bone, except if the ham has been smoked or cooked (most hams are),
the marrow in the bone will have rendered out a lot of the fat, which
is where the soup gets it's creaminess from, so I'm not sure it will
work as well. It was quite an adventure to figure it out in the first
place and I tried all kinds of cuts and bones before settling on the
leg and trotters, so I know what you're going through.
Alex says
I did find a local pig farmer but he only sells bone-in meat only, which means that I could buy the bone-in meat but would have to play the part of the butcher or take it somewhere. With that being said, do I want the front legs or the back legs? Are ham hocks the same thing as leg bones and could those be used? I looked up a butcher diagram and it looks like the hock is part of the leg but not the entire leg. This has definitely proved to be an adventure and understand why you wanted to document all of this on online! 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
The smoked bones will definitely change the flavor. Do you have any
local butchers or pig farms near you that can get you the bones? Maybe
at a farmers market? Since they aren't very popular sellers most
butchers won't display them, but if you ask ahead of time, they can
usually set them aside for you when they butcher a whole pig.
Alex says
Marc... thanks so much for putting this together. I'm not a vegetarian but do believe that we should treat the animals we eat with respect and dignity. In my household, we purchase humaenly farmed animal products. So, finding the bones has been difficult to say the least. I did go to my local Whole Foods where they do have the pork leg bones but they are pre-smoked. Do you think that these would work? My initial thought is that it would change the flavor of the broth but I seem to be running out of options. Any thoughts?
Marc Matsumoto says
The wings should work fine:-) Yep, after you do the first boil to get
rid of the extra blood, you put everything back in a pot of clean
water (you'll still need to skim it for about 20 minutes as more scum
will come up, but most of the really nasty stuff will be gone). As for
the pork belly, it's up to you whether you remove the skin or not. In
Japan they would remove it (and the extra fat), but in China they
would leave it on.
serissime says
Hey again! I am about to start the broth tomorrow! I ended up getting 2 sliced pig trotters, and several pounds of pork *knuckles.* I asked around several places (including ethnic markets and on-site butchers) and no-one had pork marrow bones, only beef. (I got the impression that I would have to preorder for a slaughter date, and I'm not sure if they would do less than a 40lb case.) Also, no one had any chicken frames or bones. I did make chicken wings the other day and have a few wing-tips, as well as about a pound of leftover raw wings. Think I can use that as my chicken? I figure I'll just strain the meat and everything out anyways.. and wings must have marrow too! Also, when everything is done being boiled for scrum, and you say to put the bones back in, you include the trotters, right? Just making sure 🙂
I couldn't find any pig cheek, just beef--but I did buy some pork belly. What I got has the skin left on... I should take it off before I make the chashu, right? And the ~1in thick layer of fat between skin and meat too, I would think.
Anonymous says
Hey Marc,
Yeah i had to omit the tahini and i used cooked fat back, so that might explain it! Will definitely try again with those two. thanks again!
Marc Matsumoto says
If your butcher carries pork, they should have the leg bones and feet.
If not, try a latin american or chinese grocery store. As for the pork
in Chashu, it's traditionally made with pork belly so that will work
just fine. I would not recommend using beef for ramen as it will have
a very different flavor. If you have trouble finding pork products,
chicken will produce a closer flavor than beef.
serissime says
I'm really excited to make this. I asked some questions about noodles on the noodle page, but I have another question. I read your chashu page and I don't remember ever seeing pig cheek in the store. I do know that my favorite butcher has beef cheek. I think they might have pork belly sometimes. Which would be better, beef cheek or pork belly? I also might need to use beef femur for the pig bones, not sure. Do you think that would be too different? I will have to actually ask the butcher to see if they have other stuff in the back or could specifically save me some when they slaughter. Anyways, thanks! I'm drooling now
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm usually all for cutting corners to make something 95% as tasty but with
much less effort, but unfortunately there's no shortcuts to be had here
(unless you just buy packaged ramen.
Rumraisin4me says
This is great. But is there a slightly simply (less ingredients) version of the soup base and ramen that's maybe 50% easier but only about 15% less awesome?
This seems to be a recipe for the perfect tonkotsu ramen, but I'd like a recipe that has the best balance of easy to make vs awesome tasting. Thanks!
Kathy says
Thanks for the quick reply!
I made the actual tonkatsu broth today (I seem to only have time to do a part a day >_>;;) and the sidefat (I couldn't find fatback anywhere - Whole Food's, Meat Shop or the grand asian market) and tahini definitely toned down the color but it was still more of a light-medium caramel brown. It was still good though!
I'm wondering if I didn't cook the bones long enough. I used a pressure cooker but my mother fussed about the pressure so it was more low-medium (although I'm not really sure how to gauge it... it's the same pressure she uses to make sweet peanut soup). So I tried to make up for that by pressure cooking 2.5 hours.
The chashu was absolutely delicious though. Thanks for putting all these recipes together!
Marc Matsumoto says
I used golden, but black would give it a darker color, interesting idea!
Chocolatesa says
What type of sesame oil do you use for the mayu? Black or golden?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kathy, The femur bone should be right. Did you do the double boil for the
bones? It's possible the onions were over caramelized, but I get them pretty
dark brown when I do it.
Kathy says
This is probably a stupid question but does it make a difference what sort of pork leg bones are used? I picked up pork femur bones but also noticed some pork legs (not the feet) but with the flesh/skin still on (similar to the package of pork feet).
My stock is more of a rich brown than pale cream color (chicken bones, pork femur bones & pork trotters). But I possibly caramelized the onion too much if the bones weren't the issue.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lo, what kind of pork bones did you use? If you included pork trotters
(the feet) the stock should have been pretty white before you added
anything. Also, from your post it sounds like you omitted the tahini and fat
back. Both those ingredients add to the whiteness of the stock. You should
be able to get tahini in any middle eastern grocery store. If you can't you
can make your own by grinding toasted sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle
until it forms a smooth paste. As for the fatback, you can just use raw pork
fat, but it's essential that it has not been cooked (once its cooked most of
the fat has rendered out and it will not give you the creamy mouthfeel ramen
is supposed to have).
Anonymous says
Hey,
Thanks a lot for your recipe, and the site. Been reading for a while and it's been a great source of inspiration. I made my first batch of the year at the weekend following your recipe fairly closely. One thing though, I still couldn't get the broth to be as white as it is in your pictures, or as I remember Tonkotsu being when I lived in Japan. Is the whiteness really just down to the bones? If so i'm a bit confused as to what went wrong... the soup was more brownish, as it's been before when I made purely pork bone soups (I have an unhealthy fascination with Ramen Jiro, which is a Tokyo version of Tonkotsu heavy on pork bones and garlic).
Anyways, if you have any tips/advice on getting the soup white it'd be appreciated but apart from that thanks a lot. Definitely the best batch I've made so far and definitely gonna continue to interpret your recipes with the left over soup 😉
Here's a post on it https://www.lo-la.co.uk/2011/01/10/the-first-ramen-batch-of-2011/
Be well
Lo
Marc Matsumoto says
Awesome glad to hear it. It is time consuming, but you can freeze the
leftover tonkotsu base, so the next few bowls shouldn't take you quite as
long:-) The recipe is still evolving on my end so I'd love to hear what you
do with it next time!
mcouperide says
For New Years Day 2011 I decided to try out this ramen recipe, including the homemade noodles. I spent four hours yesterday gathering all the ingredients (most difficult to find was the kansui for the noodles - I drove to four different Asian stores to find it. I never did find the pork cheek for the chashu), and five hours today standing in the kitchen cooking everything. My wife thought I had gone nuts (she is herself a fantastic gourmet chef and does all the cooking, usually. I realize now that I am soooo lucky).
Considering I spent 9 hours gathering stuff and and preparing two bowls of ramen, it did ocurr to me that we could have driven up to New York (from suburban DC), stand in line at Ippudo Ramen, and driven back, probably in the same or less time.
My resulting ramen was a respectable accomplishment for a first attempt. Maybe not quite as savory and robust as Ippudo, but actually more healthy-tasting, and pretty damn good tasting at that. Even my wife was impressed.
I pretty much followed your suggested recipes for everything, including the mayu. I have some ideas for modifications the next time I venture to try again. But thank you for your recipes; they are spot on!
Marc Matsumoto says
Do you have a butcher in town (not at a supermarket)? They should have a
supply of bones from the chickens they debone. As for the pork, butchers
should also have those too. They most likely won't have them on display
since it's not really something people usually buy, but if you ask them,
they should be able to set some aside for you the next time they butchering
chickens/pig. Pork shanks should work, but how much meat is on them? You
really want the bones more than the meat. If you have a Chinatown near you a
Chinese butcher should have no problem getting you what you need (the might
even have them out in the case).
Skye says
I've been going nuts trying to find the bones for this. Where/how on earth do you acquire a pound and a half of chicken bones? Will chicken backs work? And I can't pork leg bones, either. Any idea how many pounds of pork shanks would translate to enough bones?
Jacob Estes says
I read this recipe a few weeks ago, and thought it was interesting, but didn't really make any plans to actually make it. Then, I was browsing a grocery store I haven't been to in a couple years and noticed they have pig's feet packaged up with the other meat. I've never seen them raw like that!
Anyway, I've never made stock or broth before (well, not for the purpose of having broth), and so this is a lot of firsts for me. It's on the stove as I type this, and so far it's looking good.
Thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks! I wouldn't reheat the base stock, just use as much as you need
at a time. For freezing, I usually portion out serving size amounts
into tupperware and freeze, should last for months frozen. As for the
fridge, it should keep for about a week.
joe says
This is beautiful! How long do you think the gelatinous stock will last in the fridge/freezer/through multiple reheats?
Marc Matsumoto says
I've never worked with a pig head before so I'm honestly not sure what
to do with the brain. That said, you will definitely need to draw out
the gunk as you would with any other cut of meat that has blood in it.
You could also probably leave out the trotters, but I would not omit
the leg bones. I'm assuming that a pig head is going to weigh
significantly more than 1.5 pounds, so you'll also need to do the math
to figure out how you need to change the ratio of other ingredients.
Hope that helps.
Annesue says
I am rather curious about trying to make this, and I'm rather curious as to how to go about it if I want to use the pig's head as a base for the stock.
Would I need to draw out the gunk the same way as the trotters, or do I just start boiling it straight away and would I need to remove the brain if it's still attached??
I know you haven't posted a recipe with it, but I'm curious as to how you would have gone about it!
Kind regards and I can't wait to try out this amazing looking recipe!
Amanda says
Try Ryo's in Sydney's Crows Nest.
Marc Matsumoto says
Nope, by a long time I'm talking 15+ years. There are a ton of food
bloggers both in Sydney and Melbourne though, perhaps one of them
might know of a good place.
James says
Do you remember the name of the place in sydney? I'm about 3 hours from there in Canberra - its the capital but its such a small town. It seems even the places that do serve ramen rarely have tonkotsu in my experience. Its more miso ramen or shoyu ramen. Maybe the porky flavor isn't to everyone's taste!
Marc Matsumoto says
Where in Australia are you? It's been a long time, but I recall
getting some descent ramen in Sydney. As for the dough, you can hand
knead everything together.
James says
Thanks so much for this recipe. I live in Australia and to find any decent ramen, not to mention tonkotsu ramen, is near impossible. I became hooked on Tonkotsu ramen after living in Fukuoka and getting a taste for its mouth watering broth, so it seems I have no choice but to recreate the experience at home. I was wondering for the home-made ramen noodles, is there an alternative to mixing the ingredients for the dough if you don't have a mixer? Thanks again 🙂
Starboltkid says
thank you. No, I didn;t have a pressure cooker. What you said is exactly what happened...We shall see how it goes. Again, I truly appreciate you puttin gthis recipe out there for all of us who miss the tate of Delicious tonkatsu ramen.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi, sorry about that, the water in the directions was a hold-over from an
earlier iteration of the recipe (before I added the chashu braising liquid).
Did you make the soup base in a pressure cooker? If not, it's possible that
your soup has reduced too much while cooking. Were the bones still covered
in liquid when it was finished? The tonkotsu base recipe should yield about
10-12 cups of stock (assuming you made the full recipe), so you should be
able to add some water to your stock.
Starboltkid says
Question...in your recipe above for making the ramen...it says to mix the tahini, chashu liquid, etc....with water, but it doesn;t have the amount of water listed in ingredients...How much water do you use? I made everything last night and the soup base yielded 3 cups...only enough for two people. So, I am wondering ( haven;t tasted it yet) if it is concentrated and more water can be added without compromising taste. Thank you SO much for putting this recipe up. I lived in nagoya for 9 years and Ippudo was a twice weekly visit for me. Miss it!
Marc Matsumoto says
That makes sense, the skulls have a lot of collagen, but you should be able
to get the same creaminess by using trotters.
ZenKimchi says
I dream of that ramen in Fukuoka. I noticed that in their bubbling cauldron they had pig skulls, and when they pulled them up, they disintegrated like wet cardboard.
Steffi Fermazi says
I will definitely try this. Someday. At least not here in Saudi Arabia. 😉
But it looks so delicious and (most of all) doable!
Maztec says
Thanks! That is a great tip. Perhaps I can find a delicious hybrid of this. When I get around to it, if it's any good, I will try to remember to come back and comment!
Marc Matsumoto says
Tonkotsu ramen is always made with pork ("ton" means pork in Japanese). That
said, in Korea there's a soup called Sulong Tang that's made with a white
beef marrow broth that's quite good. Making broth out of beef marrow bones
could make for a very unique ramen, though you might want to change the
seasonings to take advantage of the characteristics of a beef stock.
Maztec says
Do you think cow bones would work instead of pig bones? Wife won't eat pork, but this looks so wonderfully delicious.
steb says
You are a hero
Peko says
Mission accomplished, indeed!!
This looks excellent and I *think* I want to try it someday. Well, no, I am absolutely sure that I want to, and *think* that I actually will. It is quite a project.
Anonymous says
Thanks a lot! I appreciate it. I believe I like the idea of having to make my own tahini (and from the looks of it, it's cost effective too.)
Marc Matsumoto says
If you can get toasted sesame seeds you could make it yourself. Tahini
is basically sesame seeds that have been ground into a butter (like
peanut butter). I've used peanut butter in a pinch, but it's much
better if you can just grind your own sesame seeds with a mortar and
pestle. As for what it does to the soup, it adds creamy body, richness
and a nutty flavor. I hope that helps!
Marilia says
Dear Marc,
I have been craving for the flavor of Ippudo's tonkotsu ramen ever since I left Osaka last August. I do have a question, in the absence of tahini, do you have a substitute? What does tahini do to the flavor of tonkotsu? It's a rare ingredient here in Manila so I was wondering if it makes an entire difference or if I can use a substitute.
Timothychanchihim says
i think i caramelize my onions too much that the base is not white but little too brownish... oh well gotta try harder, thx for the recipie anyways
Marc Matsumoto says
Use a slotted spoon to drain the oil from the onions and garlic then
add it to the soup.
Timothychanchihim says
i would like to ask that when you say drain the garlic and onion and put it into the base, do you mean to drain into the soup and discard the onion and garlic? or drain the oil and put the onion and garlic into the soup? thx
Marc Matsumoto says
The milky color comes from the marrow and collagen in the leg bones, other
bones will get you good stock, but it will not have the same color/flavor.
I've also started adding the pig feet (trotters) to the base as well, which
makes the soup very creamy.
Noodles says
Making the base/stock wasn't easy.
Thanks for sharing the Tonkotsu Ramen recipe. I have been looking for an authentic ramen recipe online, which wasn't easy to find.
Therefore, I am giving your recipe a try. The stock is currently cooking my kitchen for about 3 hours. It smell delicious, however, the stock still looks clear and NOT MILKY (uuurggggh) :-S. I think I am looking for a 2nd trial. I think my mistake might because I use the hip bone. Not quite happy with the result.....but, haven't yet giving up.
Arigato Gozaimasu
Marilia says
Hi,
I've been using this recipe for a few years now. I found it online after a few failed attempts at using a recipe for Tonkotsu that some friends from Japan gave me. Slurping the broth that this recipe makes takes me right back to a bowl of noodles I ate in a Ramen shop under Fukuoka station a few years back. Just perfect.
I often debate with my wife the nutritional value (if any) of a bowl of Ramen. So to end the controversy, I decided to enter your recipe into the About.com Calorie Counter. I'm unsure in regards to this site's credibility amongst the diet industry, although I used it a few years ago when I was trying to loose weight.
The results are here: https://theramenbackpacker.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-nutritional-is-ramen.html
Based on a (meagre) serving of 319g, the calorie counter offered some unsurprising results including 2353mg of salt per serve, and a saturated fat rating of 25 per cent.
What shocked me was the actual calorie count. The results showed, a serve of your Tonkotsu Ramen is only 397 calories. So in theory a serve of ramen can quite comfortably fit into a daily diet of 1500 calories. Diet Ramen!
Marc Matsumoto says
OOoooo that sounds very interesting. The tonkotsu base might be a little too
rich for natto, but you could try it. As for the chashu, I have a recipe
here: https://norecipes.com/2009/10/05/japanese-chashu-recipe/
Koji says
wow this is amazing. I live in San Diego and there are so few places that serve good tonkotsu ramen, let alone good ramen in general. I've been trying to come up with a chyashyu ramen with a natto flavored soup base, but not much luck. Have any ideas of where to start?
steb says
I'm in college right now, and for some reason during one of my lectures, I had the greatest burning desire to make a bowl of true ramen. I am so excited to have found a base recipe to get started with.
Blueluna4jam says
If you live in NYC there is this great noodle shop in china town called Ajisan Noodles. Its on Mott street (sorry don't recall the actual address but it wont be hard to find).
C Hosano says
nice.. i think you should make a video for this..
noodles says
i had the same problems. my broth turned out pretty brown. i think i might have caramelized the onions too long. i only fried the onions and garlic for about 20 min and they were almost burnt. i skimmed the impurities out completely too.
i think i spent a total of 8 hours simmering the broth but it still turned out really bland. 🙁 i don't know what i did wrong.
Ushito says
THIS IS PERFECT 🙂
Swoeng says
I just moved back to the states having lived in Tokyo for the last two years and haven't had any success with finding a decnt ramen-ya near me. I tried your recipe for the first tine today and tested it out with my foodie friends and they absolutely loved it! I paired up the tonkatsu ramen with your buta kakuni recipe. I can't thank you enough for posting the recipe! When I now have ramen cravings I now can reach into my fridge for the broth recipe.
Swoeng says
I just moved back to the states having lived in Tokyo for the last two years and haven't had any success with finding a decnt ramen-ya near me. I tried your recipe for the first tine today and tested it out with my foodie friends and they absolutely loved it! I paired up the tonkatsu ramen with your buta kakuni recipe. I can't thank you enough for posting the recipe! When I now have ramen cravings I now can reach into my fridge for the broth recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
I have a generic pressure cooker with 2 pressure settings (low andhigh). It shouldn't really matter too much, though depending on howmuch pressure your cooker can handle it the cooking time may vary. The idea is to cook the bones long enough so you can break them easilywith your fingers. If they don't, just put the lid back on and keepcooking it.
Marc Matsumoto says
I have a generic pressure cooker with 2 pressure settings (low andhigh). It shouldn't really matter too much, though depending on howmuch pressure your cooker can handle it the cooking time may vary. The idea is to cook the bones long enough so you can break them easilywith your fingers. If they don't, just put the lid back on and keepcooking it.
ramen neko ^~^ says
Yes ! Tonkotsu (home-made) passion rekindled after reading this ! Thank you. What pressure cooker do you own ? I should at least be using the same tools ^~^
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, it freezes just fine. I often make a big batch and portion it outand freeze it.
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, it freezes just fine. I often make a big batch and portion it outand freeze it.
m-ashley says
Does the tonkatsu base freeze well. I dont do a lot of cooking, but would love homemade ramen on occasion. I'd like to make a big batch and just thaw portions when i am ready to make soup.
m-ashley says
Does the tonkatsu base freeze well. I dont do a lot of cooking, but would love homemade ramen on occasion. I'd like to make a big batch and just thaw portions when i am ready to make soup.
Marc Matsumoto says
Sure, you can cook it over the stove in a regular stock pot with alid. You just need to triple the cooking time (6 hours instead of 2).You'll also probably need to add extra water as it will evaporatefaster from a regular pot.
Marc Matsumoto says
Sure, you can cook it over the stove in a regular stock pot with alid. You just need to triple the cooking time (6 hours instead of 2).You'll also probably need to add extra water as it will evaporatefaster from a regular pot.
jlai says
can i use something other than a pressure cooker? i don't have access to one, but would like to attempt making this.
jlai says
can i use something other than a pressure cooker? i don't have access to one, but would like to attempt making this.
Marc Matsumoto says
If you have a store near you that sells Japanese products you should be ableto find "tonkotsu ramen" in the refrigerated (or frozen) food section. Theycome complete with noodles and soup base and are pretty good (often betterthan the fast food places), but they're not the same as making the stockyourself.
Lee says
I do endeavour to make this at home myself as I have recently discovered what I 'think' is this dish whilst living in Beijing!Is there a tonkotsu base that one can buy - cheating and completely a convenience product I know, but until I source necessary ingredients it may help stave off my cravings!I have only had this dish at a 'fast food' type place here and am now on a mission to find the 'real deal' here in Beijing! Any tips let me know.....
Marc Matsumoto says
If you have a store near you that sells Japanese products you should be ableto find "tonkotsu ramen" in the refrigerated (or frozen) food section. Theycome complete with noodles and soup base and are pretty good (often betterthan the fast food places), but they're not the same as making the stockyourself.
Lee says
I do endeavour to make this at home myself as I have recently discovered what I 'think' is this dish whilst living in Beijing!Is there a tonkotsu base that one can buy - cheating and completely a convenience product I know, but until I source necessary ingredients it may help stave off my cravings!I have only had this dish at a 'fast food' type place here and am now on a mission to find the 'real deal' here in Beijing! Any tips let me know.....
Marc Matsumoto says
Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you:( If your soup turned out brown, there's a couple things that may have happend. The brown colour typically comes from impurities in the meat, which you need to get rid of during the first boil (where you throw the water out) or during the boiling and skimming phase. The lid to the pressure cooker should not be sealed until you stop seeing impurities floating to the surface (foam and clumps of blood). It's also worth noting that the soup will still be a light tan colour and won't look milky until you whisk in the tahini and pork fat.As far as the flavour, the only thing I can think of is that your pressure cooker may be different than mine and takes longer to extract all the flavour from the bones. When your soup was done and you strained it, do you remember if the bones were crumbly? If you cooked it long enough, both the pork and chicken bones should break apart easily in your hand. The tonkotsu base should be very rich and almost sticky in your mouth before adding any of the flavourings in the the ramen recipe.
Cklasse says
I just tried and eaten my ramen using this recipe but it failed miserably. I must have done something wrong along the way.Why is my soup brown in colour when yours is cream? Have I caramelised the onions too much?Why is the soup kind of bland? Is it because I did not put enough pork?
Marc Matsumoto says
Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you:( If your soup turned out brown, there's a couple things that may have happend. The brown colour typically comes from impurities in the meat, which you need to get rid of during the first boil (where you throw the water out) or during the boiling and skimming phase. The lid to the pressure cooker should not be sealed until you stop seeing impurities floating to the surface (foam and clumps of blood). It's also worth noting that the soup will still be a light tan colour and won't look milky until you whisk in the tahini and pork fat.As far as the flavour, the only thing I can think of is that your pressure cooker may be different than mine and takes longer to extract all the flavour from the bones. When your soup was done and you strained it, do you remember if the bones were crumbly? If you cooked it long enough, both the pork and chicken bones should break apart easily in your hand. The tonkotsu base should be very rich and almost sticky in your mouth before adding any of the flavourings in the the ramen recipe.
Cklasse says
I just tried and eaten my ramen using this recipe but it failed miserably. I must have done something wrong along the way.Why is my soup brown in colour when yours is cream? Have I caramelised the onions too much?
Why is the soup kind of bland? Is it because I did not put enough pork?
[eatingclub vancouver] js says
I'm going to try this tonkotsu broth -- thanks! Maybe we'll have a ramen party in the near future. . .
[eatingclub vancouver] js says
I'm going to try this tonkotsu broth -- thanks! Maybe we'll have a ramen party in the near future. . .
sabeena ibrahim says
I spent 8 hours last night making my 3rd attempt at tonkotsu ramen. The soup by itself was ok, but mixed with the buta kakuni sauce, it was surprisingly good. I want to give your recipe a shot, as I didn't use chicken stock (added a little fish sauce tho, and dashi). Im curious tho, was it hard getting pork leg/thigh bones? I called a butcher and they said they're hard to come by. I used neck bones and a pretty big section of pig foot. Hit me back, I'd love some pointers!
Marilia says
I spent 8 hours last night making my 3rd attempt at tonkotsu ramen. The soup by itself was ok, but mixed with the buta kakuni sauce, it was surprisingly good. I want to give your recipe a shot, as I didn't use chicken stock (added a little fish sauce tho, and dashi). Im curious tho, was it hard getting pork leg/thigh bones? I called a butcher and they said they're hard to come by. I used neck bones and a pretty big section of pig foot. Hit me back, I'd love some pointers!
grazingrace says
WOW! i am a big ramen lover and i did try making my own. but like you said, they were all bowls of pale watery concoctions. gave up after a while and decided to concentrate eating them, but your post just rekindled my fire to try again! 😛
Tim H says
I've been searching the web for a while for a great tonkotsu recipe, and this is it! Brilliant post, thanks for the inspiration.
Tim H says
I've been searching the web for a while for a great tonkotsu recipe, and this is it! Brilliant post, thanks for the inspiration.
Marc Matsumoto says
I get chicken bones in chinatown for about $0.50 a pound. If you don't live somewhere with a chinatown, you can try asking your local butcher or the meat section of a grocery store to set bones aside for you (they have to remove the bones to make the boneless thighs and breasts). Hope that helps', '0
Marc Matsumoto says
I get chicken bones in chinatown for about $0.50 a pound. If you don't live somewhere with a chinatown, you can try asking your local butcher or the meat section of a grocery store to set bones aside for you (they have to remove the bones to make the boneless thighs and breasts). Hope that helps
betty says
This looks amazing thanks so much for sharing!!!! I think my record for waiting for this meal at Ippudo was 2 hours, so I can't wait try this recipe and make SIX portions for the same wait! 🙂
This seems like a stupid question, but any advice on the best way to get the chicken bones? Surely there must be an easier way than deboning multiple chickens....
betty says
This looks amazing thanks so much for sharing!!!! I think my record for waiting for this meal at Ippudo was 2 hours, so I can't wait try this recipe and make SIX portions for the same wait! 🙂
This seems like a stupid question, but any advice on the best way to get the chicken bones? Surely there must be an easier way than deboning multiple chickens....
KB says
Thank you!! Besides okonomiyaki (Hiroshima-style), tonkotsu ramen was a food staple to me during my time in Japan. Now back home in the States, I've been able to reasonably replicate many of my Japanese favorites with the glaring exception of tonkotsu ramen (and yes: once you've eaten ramen in Japan, you will never - EVER - eat one of those instant packs again!). Thanks again for the time and effort. I can't wait to set aside a weekend to attempt it. 🙂
KB says
Thank you!! Besides okonomiyaki (Hiroshima-style), tonkotsu ramen was a food staple to me during my time in Japan. Now back home in the States, I've been able to reasonably replicate many of my Japanese favorites with the glaring exception of tonkotsu ramen (and yes: once you've eaten ramen in Japan, you will never - EVER - eat one of those instant packs again!). Thanks again for the time and effort. I can't wait to set aside a weekend to attempt it. 🙂
my spatula says
fantastic! a goal to make homemade ramen has been on my radar for AGES. now, i must learn to make the noodles.
my spatula says
fantastic! a goal to make homemade ramen has been on my radar for AGES. now, i must learn to make the noodles.
katiek says
congratulations on the herculean effort. tampopo would be proud.
i love posts that i spend time thinking through and editing. sometimes it isn't straight to press for my recipes. I am nursing a xiaolongbao redux recipe, culling the texture of skins and flavors, consulting others, in order to rpoduce something i love.
hats off.
katiek says
congratulations on the herculean effort. tampopo would be proud.
i love posts that i spend time thinking through and editing. sometimes it isn't straight to press for my recipes. I am nursing a xiaolongbao redux recipe, culling the texture of skins and flavors, consulting others, in order to rpoduce something i love.
hats off.
Peko says
Man, you are the super foodie! A touch crazy, I do think (In the right way, of course!) I think I would like to try making ramen broth, but maybe not. You inspire me.
How was tuna stock, and where did you have it? The ramen with bacon, mozzarella and fried burdock is pretty great, I think. But tonkotsu is the real deal.
Cook on, Marc!
Peko says
Man, you are the super foodie! A touch crazy, I do think (In the right way, of course!) I think I would like to try making ramen broth, but maybe not. You inspire me.
How was tuna stock, and where did you have it? The ramen with bacon, mozzarella and fried burdock is pretty great, I think. But tonkotsu is the real deal.
Cook on, Marc!
Jenni Field says
In honor of this post, a haiku:
Marc, ever dauntless
Seeks Tonkotsu perfection
And shares with his friends.
Jenni Field says
In honor of this post, a haiku:
Marc, ever dauntless
Seeks Tonkotsu perfection
And shares with his friends.
John says
Unbelievable - just stumbled across this on a web search and it's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks so much for taking the time!
John says
Unbelievable - just stumbled across this on a web search and it's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks so much for taking the time!
Tiffany says
Oh that looks fantastic! Thank you for taking the arduous journey to Japan and forcing yourself to try every food available. I know it was probably very hard, but just think about how happy you've made your readers 😛
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
That is one nice looking ramen! Great tips for making the broth!
Tiffany says
Oh that looks fantastic! Thank you for taking the arduous journey to Japan and forcing yourself to try every food available. I know it was probably very hard, but just think about how happy you've made your readers 😛
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
That is one nice looking ramen! Great tips for making the broth!
Lori Lynn says
Sounds amazing. I like your choice of toppings too. Very colorful.
Happy New Year Marc!
LL
Lori Lynn says
Sounds amazing. I like your choice of toppings too. Very colorful.
Happy New Year Marc!
LL
Jerry (CBSOP) says
Oh I so have to try this one. That is indeed the Holy Grail of soups. I'm glad you decided to tackle it and bing us along for the ride
Andreas says
Congratulations on achieving the Tonkotsu Grail. 🙂
May there be many bowls of ramen in 2010.
Happy New Year.
Jerry (CBSOP) says
Oh I so have to try this one. That is indeed the Holy Grail of soups. I'm glad you decided to tackle it and bing us along for the ride
Andreas says
Congratulations on achieving the Tonkotsu Grail. 🙂
May there be many bowls of ramen in 2010.
Happy New Year.
drfugawe says
Congrats on the level of your dedication. I know the quandary of saving your best posts until they're perfect; I've got 5-6 patiently waiting! Beautiful job.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming noodle post - I think noodles are perhaps the most "avoided" area among home made foods, even though they are so loved.
drfugawe says
Congrats on the level of your dedication. I know the quandary of saving your best posts until they're perfect; I've got 5-6 patiently waiting! Beautiful job.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming noodle post - I think noodles are perhaps the most "avoided" area among home made foods, even though they are so loved.
pigpigscorner says
Definitely making this! Happy New Year!
pigpigscorner says
Definitely making this! Happy New Year!
Pei-Lin says
Thanks for sharing the insight into the making of a good bowl of ramen! Here's to wish a great year in 2010!!! Happy New Year!
Pei-Lin says
Thanks for sharing the insight into the making of a good bowl of ramen! Here's to wish a great year in 2010!!! Happy New Year!
noobcook says
wow this recipe is many years in the making - no wonder the result looks restaurant quality. The broth looks really rich and your ramen is so beautiful. Happy 2010! =)
jk2001 says
WOW. This is a real revelation.
Foodie in Denial says
Congratulations! Now there's an accomplishment to truly let you know that 2009 was a successful year!
Christine says
If it's close to Ippudo's ramen then its definitely worth a try. I've never made ramen at home, but will be making this one soon.
noobcook says
wow this recipe is many years in the making - no wonder the result looks restaurant quality. The broth looks really rich and your ramen is so beautiful. Happy 2010! =)
jk2001 says
WOW. This is a real revelation.
Foodie in Denial says
Congratulations! Now there's an accomplishment to truly let you know that 2009 was a successful year!
Christine says
If it's close to Ippudo's ramen then its definitely worth a try. I've never made ramen at home, but will be making this one soon.
Peter G says
The best ramen I had was in Honolulu! After a heavy night of drinking it was the perfect cure. I still remember the taste! Marc it looks like your quest for the perfect ramen has been fulfilled. If I ever get adventurous I'm sure to look it up and give it a go. All the best for 2010...It was a real pleasure meeting you later this year.
Carolyn Jung says
My husband will kiss the ground you walk on. This is one of his fave things in the world. I want to just slurp up a giant bowl of this right now.
Amy says
Hi Marc, this is awesome. I've always been curious about how this (ramen) was made. Thank you for sharing this : )
MLe says
Wow!!! I am so in love with ramen but sadly am unable to find anything remotely authentic to what I had in Japan where I am in the US. I am so glad you undertook the difficult task of trying to brew up some of this delicious stock so the rest of us may have an easier time recreating those wonderful ramen slurping memories. Thanks!!!
Peter G says
The best ramen I had was in Honolulu! After a heavy night of drinking it was the perfect cure. I still remember the taste! Marc it looks like your quest for the perfect ramen has been fulfilled. If I ever get adventurous I'm sure to look it up and give it a go. All the best for 2010...It was a real pleasure meeting you later this year.
Carolyn Jung says
My husband will kiss the ground you walk on. This is one of his fave things in the world. I want to just slurp up a giant bowl of this right now.
Amy says
Hi Marc, this is awesome. I've always been curious about how this (ramen) was made. Thank you for sharing this : )
MLe says
Wow!!! I am so in love with ramen but sadly am unable to find anything remotely authentic to what I had in Japan where I am in the US. I am so glad you undertook the difficult task of trying to brew up some of this delicious stock so the rest of us may have an easier time recreating those wonderful ramen slurping memories. Thanks!!!