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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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?