Tonkotsu Ramen

A deliciously fatty and thick soup made from pork bones, with a cloudy white appearance that comes from cleaning the bones before cooking them to avoid brown colors.

Ingredients

One batch of tonkotsu broth

One batch of bacon shoyu miso tare

Alkaline noodles. You can usually buy dried ramen at the grocery store or maybe depending on where you live you can find fresh noodles. The most important thing is they should not be egg noodles. The ingredient list should mention potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate or some other similar alkaline ingredients. Ideally you would not use instant ramen, as that's also not going to be the right kind of noodle. Here's an example of a type of noodle that you'd like to find if you can't get something fresh.

One batch of chashu

One batch of soft boiled ramen eggs

Negi garlic oil or other aroma oils for finishing

Thinly chopped scallions or negi for garnish

Enoki or other mushrooms

Some sauted greens like bok choy or broccoli leaves

Recipe

1. Bring broth to a boil in a stock pot

2. Warm your tare on the lowest setting on your stove in a small saucepan

3. Slice your chashu thinly and brown in a pan or using a torch

4. Cut your soft boiled eggs into halves for a nice presentation

5. If you need to heat any other toppings like cooked greens or mushrooms, do this now

6. Bring a pot of water to boil on your stove, and cook the ramen until just al dente (usually takes 4 minutes or so)

7. While the ramen is cooking, pour some hot water (I like just using my electric tea kettle for this) into each bowl to help warm the bowl so its doesn't cool down any components

8. Drain the noodles, and now it's time to plate everything. In a large bowl, add 1-2 tablespoons of tare, then 1-2 ladles of broth (the exact ratio of tare to broth is something you should play with a bit to make sure the broth isn't too salty). Then add your noodles to the bowl. Top with a slice of chashu, the eggs, and any other veggie toppics and mushrooms and some sliced scallions and some dried seaweed if you like. Now's also the time to drizzle a bit of the aroma oils on top of the soup.