Tonkotsu Ramen Recipe

Prep and blanch bones

Place pork bones in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a rapid simmer and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and discard blanch water; rinse bones and pot to remove scum. This yields a cleaner broth.

Start long simmer

Return cleaned bones to the pot. Add 6 liters of fresh water, pork back fat, halved garlic heads, halved onion, sliced ginger, and white parts of the scallions. Heat to a gentle rolling simmer (not a hard boil) and simmer uncovered for 6–12 hours. Maintain a low boil and skim any surface scum every 30–60 minutes. The longer you simmer (up to 12 hours), the richer and creamier the tonkotsu will become.

Finish dashi infusion

With about 20 minutes left on the simmer, add the kombu to the pot for 10 minutes to extract umami. Remove kombu after 10 minutes to avoid bitterness. In a separate small saucepan, bring 250 ml water to a simmer, remove from heat and add bonito flakes. Let steep 3–5 minutes, then strain. Add the strained bonito (katsuobushi) infusion to the pork broth and simmer for the final 10 minutes, then strain the entire broth through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean pot.

Adjust seasoning with tare

Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake and salt to make a simple tare. Taste the strained broth and add tare gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time, until balanced—tonkotsu should be rich and savory but not overly salty. Keep the finished broth hot until serving.

Heat neutral oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic, minced ginger and chopped shallot. Sauté gently until soft and lightly caramelized, about 5–7 minutes. Add 1 tsp light soy sauce and stir to deglaze. Remove from heat and set aside. When serving, add 1/2 to 1 tbsp sofrito per bowl to boost savory depth.

Roll and sear

Roll the pork belly into a tight log and tie with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Sear on all sides in a hot skillet until browned to develop flavor, about 6–8 minutes total.

Braise

In a pot just large enough to hold the seared roll, combine soy sauce (1 cup), mirin (1/2 cup), sake (1/4 cup), 1 cup water, sugar, smashed garlic, sliced ginger and scallions. Add the pork belly, bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and braise on low heat for 1.5–2 hours, turning the roll occasionally so it braises evenly. The pork is done when very tender and sliceable.

Cool and slice

Remove the pork from the braising liquid and let cool until firm enough to slice (ideally refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set). Strain and reserve braising liquid to spoon over sliced chashu when plating. Slice the roll into 1/4-inch thick rounds.

Soft-boil the eggs

Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil. Lower eggs carefully into the water and cook for 6 minutes 30 seconds for runny yolks (adjust ±30 seconds depending on egg size). Immediately transfer eggs to an ice bath to stop cooking for at least 5 minutes.

Marinate

Whisk together 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup mirin, 1/4 cup water and 1 tsp sugar until dissolved. Peel the cooled eggs gently and place them in the marinade, ensuring they are submerged (use a small container or zip-top bag). Marinate in the refrigerator for 4–12 hours (longer yields more color and flavor). Cut eggs in half when ready to serve.

Roast garlic: If you haven’t prepared roasted garlic earlier, thinly slice some garlic or make garlic chips by frying in 1–2 tbsp oil over medium heat until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

Heat noodles: Cook fresh ramen noodles according to package instructions (usually 60–90 seconds in boiling water). If using dried noodles, cook until al dente. Drain well.

Warm bowls and portion tare: Preheat serving bowls with hot water, pour out, then add about 1–2 tbsp of the prepared tare (adjust to taste) into each bowl.

Assemble bowls: Place cooked noodles into each bowl on top of tare. Ladle hot tonkotsu broth over the noodles (about 500 ml per serving) to reheat and mix with tare. Add 2–3 slices of chashu pork per bowl and spoon a little reserved chashu braising liquid over the pork for shine and flavor. Halve the marinated egg and place one half (or a full halved egg) in each bowl.

Finish with toppings: Add 1/2 tbsp sofrito, 1/2 tbsp roasted garlic, 3/4 tbsp fukujinzuke, 1/2 tsp rayu (or to taste), 3 tbsp thinly sliced negi, and sprinkle 1/4 tsp toasted sesame seeds over each bowl. Adjust rayu and tare to taste at the table.

Serve

Serve bowls hot so the broth is steaming. Provide extra rayu, soy, and fukujinzuke at the table for guests to customize.