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 Holy 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
Tonkotsu Ramen
Ingredients
- 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
- ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
- 5 cloves garlic grated
- 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)
- ½ batch fresh ramen noodles
- 2 teaspoons mayu (from recipe above)
- sliced chashu
- 2 scallions finely chopped
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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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?