tonkotsu

This is a fully emulsified, creamy, fatty, pork bone broth with all the flavor of a traditional ramen recipe. There are zero artificial additives; just pork bones and other traditional ingredients.While this recipe is what I currently use to make tonkotsu ramen, I'd also invite you to think of this as more of a technique rather than a set-in-stone recipe (see the Recipe Notes at the end).NOTES:&nbsp;1) This broth is completely unseasoned; you will want to season it with salt, soy, tare, miso, or any combination of those before enjoying with your favorite ramen noodles and toppings.2) Will serve 6-8 people (see Recipe Notes at the end).

Pressure Cooker Tonkotsu Ramen Broth

lb pork neck bones

lb pork femur bones

ham hocks ((raw, not smoked))

pig trotter ((split))

scallions/green onions (white part only) ((chopped to roughly 2" lengths))

shiitake mushrooms

kombu

thick-sliced katsuobushi

The only things you really need are a pressure cooker (I use an 8-quart cooker, but this could easily squeeze into a 6-quart cooker), and some kind of blender.&nbsp;I prefer an immersion blender for this, but any blender would work. If you only have a wire whisk, that should work too, although with considerably more effort on your part.You'll also probably want a fine mesh skimmer, a wire strainer, a good sized wooden spoon and a pair of tongs. Not required, but they will make your life a whole lot easier.

Tools

Thaw all the pork bones (if frozen) the night before.

Load them all into your pressure cooker, and cover with water.

Mix roughly, then let stand for five minutes or so.

Pour off the water, rinse the bones off, and cover with water again.

Over high heat, bring to a rolling boil for a full minute, skimming off any scum that gathers on the surface.

Remove from heat and pour off the water; under cold running water, rinse the bones and remove any visible blood.

Prep the bones

Cover the bones with water again; return to the stove and add all your aromatics and flavorants.

In this recipe we're using dried shiitake mushrooms, dried kombu, dried smoked fish, and green onions.

With whatever pressure cooker you have, set it to the highest pressure it will take and bring it up to pressure.

Cook your broth under pressure for one hour. After that time, the meat and skin should be extremely soft, and slip off the bones easily or have disintegrated completely. The softer bones should crumble between your fingers.

OPTIONAL: After one hour, bring the pressure off and separate the skin, connective tissue, and meat from the bones. Discard the bones and return the rest to the pressure cooker; bring back up to to pressure and hammer it for another five minutes.

Make your broth

Let your pressure cooker come back off pressure normally; strain out the bones (if you omitted the optional step), meat, and aromatics.

Transfer the broth into your blender, or back into your (now-rinsed) pressure cooker.

Blend on high power until it emulsifies. You will get an oily foam on top, which you can knock down by bringing the broth up to a quick boil; I just let it be, as it will dissipate into a thin slick of pork fat on top of the soup, which I quite like.

You can use this broth immediately, or transfer it to a container and refrigerate until the next day. That's what I usually go with, as I typically prep this alongside my ramen toppings... which is a whole other series of recipes.&nbsp;If you don't want to wait for those, Kenji Lopez-Alt has an excellent series on his ramen broth and topping recipes, including chashu pork and marinated soft-boiled eggs.

Emulsify your broth

Here's how to make a rich, creamy tonkotsu ramen broth from scratch.

Rich and Creamy Tonkotsu Ramen Broth Recipe

chicken

vegetable oil

onion, skin on, roughly chopped

garlic

leeks,

mushrooms

slab pork fat back

Place pork and chicken bones in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Place on a burner over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as boil is reached.

While pot is heating, heat vegetable oil in a medium cast iron or non-stick skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook, tossing occasionally until deeply charred on most sides, about 15 minutes total. Set aside.

Once pot has come to a boil, dump water down the drain. Carefully wash all bones under cold running water, removing any bits of dark marrow or coagulated blood. Bones should be uniform grey/white after you've scrubbed them. Use a chopstick to help remove small bits of dark marrow from inside the trotters or near the chicken's spines.

Return bones to pot along with charred vegetables, leeks, scallion whites, mushrooms, and pork fatback. Top up with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that appears (this should stop appearing within the first 20 minutes or so). Use a clean sponge or moist paper towels to wipe and black or gray scum off from around the rim of the pot. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and place a heavy lid on top.

Once the lid is on, check the pot after 15 minutes. It should be at a slow rolling boil. If not, increase or decrease heat slightly to adjust boiling speed. Boil broth until pork fatback is completely tender, about 4 hours. Carefully remove pork fat with a slotted spatula. Transfer fatback to a sealed container and refrigerate until step 7. Return lid to pot and continue cooking until broth is opaque with the texture of light cream, about 6 to 8 hours longer, topping up as necessary to keep bones submerged at all times. If you must leave the pot unattended for an extended period of time, top up the pot and reduce the heat to the lowest setting while you are gone. Return to a boil when you come back and continue cooking, topping up with more water as necessary.

Once broth is ready, cook over high heat until reduced to around 3 quarts. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot. Discard solids. For an even cleaner soup, strain again through a chinois or a fine mesh strainer lined with several layers of cheese cloth. Skim liquid fat from top with a ladle and discard.

Finely chop cooked pork fatback and whisk into finished broth. To serve, season broth with condiments of your choice (salt, soy sauce, miso, sesame paste, grated fresh garlic, chili oil or a mixture of all, for instance) and serve with cooked ramen noodles and toppings as desired.

Tonkotsu ramen is rich, filling, and easy to make at home with a luscious slow-cooked pork and chicken broth, fresh noodles, soft yolks, and tender pork belly.

Tonkotsu Ramen Recipe

(7 inch pieces) kombu kelp

(1.9 L) water

chicken broth

(59 mL) mirin

½ cup (118 mL) soy sauce

Tbsp (30 mL) sake

tsp (5 g) brown sugar

tsp (5 mL) rice wine vinegar

ginger,

garlic,

scallion, chopped

lb pig trotters, ask the butcher to cut into horizontal slices

lb chicken backs,

lb chicken feet

lb pork belly scraps, chopped up

onion,

garlic head,

leek,

green onions, white parts only, cut them in half across

lb (4-5 oz) pork fatback

(137 mL) water

green onions, roughly chopped

(118 mL) mirin

¼ cup (118 mL) fish sauce

plain white sugar

(1 1/2 lb) slab of pork belly

ramen noodles

eggs (one per serving)

Nori (sushi seaweed)

Enoki mushrooms

scallions

Chili oil

sesame oil

In a large pot, soak kombu in the...

In a large pot, soak kombu in the water for at least 30 minutes, up to 3 hours. Then bring to a lively simmer over medium low heat. This will take about 20-30 minutes.

Before the dashi begins boiling, take the kombu...

Before the dashi begins boiling, take the kombu out (boiled kombu will cause your dashi to become bitter and slimy) and strain dashi into a large bowl lined with cheesecloth.

Bring all the ingredients to simmer in a...

Bring all the ingredients to simmer in a saucepan.

Simmer the tare until it reduces to ½...

Simmer the tare until it reduces to ½ cup, about 25 minutes.

Strain the solids and let the tare cool....

Strain the solids and let the tare cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Place the chicken backs and pork bones in...

Place the chicken backs and pork bones in a heavy bottomed stock pot. Add enough water to fully cover them. Cover with a lid. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Once boiled, drain the bones and wash any dark marrow or coagulated blood off from the pork with cold water and a chopstick or fork. The bones should have no dark color left in them to obtain a light, milky color.

Rinse the pot, put the bones back in...

Rinse the pot, put the bones back in along with the rest of the ingredients for the broth except the fatback. Add water to just cover the ingredients. Over high heat, bring the water to a rolling boil, then turn down temperature to a low boil/very lively simmer. Let boil for 12-18 hours, adding water to keep the ingredients submerged.

The last 30 minutes to 1 hour before...

The last 30 minutes to 1 hour before it’s done, place the fatback on a sieve or strainer, shallowly put it into the broth, cover the pot and let the fat cook. Remove and finely mince the fat. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.

Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve...

Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl (or multiple containers) to remove solids. Let chill in the fridge until solid, then spoon the fat off the top.

Lay pork belly on cutting board and roll...

Lay pork belly on cutting board and roll up lengthwise, with skin facing out.

Using butcher’s twine, tightly secure pork belly at...

Using butcher’s twine, tightly secure pork belly at 3/4-inch intervals.

Preheat oven to 275°F. Heat water, garlic, ginger,...

Preheat oven to 275°F. Heat water, garlic, ginger, sliced green onions, soy sauce, mirin, fish sauce, white sugar in a medium saucepan, big enough to hold the pork belly, over high heat until boiling. Add pork belly, it won't be submerged. Cover with a lid left slightly ajar. Transfer to oven and cook, turning pork occasionally, until pork is fully tender and a cake tester or thin knife inserted into its center meets little resistance, 3 to 4 hours. Transfer contents to a sealed container and refrigerate until completely cool.

Reheat pork belly slices in soup broth with...

Reheat pork belly slices in soup broth with noodles and other garnishes.

In a large pot, bring the tonkotsu broth...

In a large pot, bring the tonkotsu broth to a simmer. Add 5-6 cups of dashi. Finely chop the fatback and add the fatback to the broth, simmering until it’s barely visible in the broth. Ladle the broth into deep, wide bowls, adding about 2-3 tablespoons of tare, leaving room for the noodles and toppings. (Freeze any leftover broth to use later.) Cook the noodles according to the package instructions and divide among bowls. Top each with 2 slices of pork belly, one soft boiled egg sliced in half, 3 slices of naruto, 1 sheet of nori, the enoki mushrooms, oils, and scallions.

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