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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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! 😛