Shoyu-tonkatsu Ramen Recipe

Blanch bones: place chicken backs and pork bones in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a vigorous boil for 10 minutes to remove impurities. Skim foam, then drain and rinse bones under warm water to remove scum.

Return cleaned bones to the pot and add 3000 ml fresh water. Add halved onion, carrot chunks, smashed ginger, smashed garlic, scallion tops, dried shiitake and kombu.

Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, reduce to low and maintain a bare simmer (small bubbles) for 4–6 hours, partially covered. Skim occasionally. For a richer broth, simmer up to 8 hours.

During the last 30 minutes of simmering, add mirin, sake and light soy sauce and continue to simmer. Taste and adjust salt to about 2 tsp total for the whole pot.

Strain broth through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a clean pot; discard solids. If you want a silky broth, let cool slightly and skim fat from the surface or refrigerate and remove solidified fat.

Combine concentrated broth (120 ml) with dark soy, light soy, mirin, sake and sugar in a small saucepan. Warm gently over low heat just until sugar dissolves; do not boil hard. Taste and adjust balance — tare should be salty and slightly sweet and concentrated. Keep warm or at room temperature.

Peel and thinly slice 8 garlic cloves.

In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat neutral oil over medium-low. Add sliced garlic and cook slowly, stirring frequently. The goal is to caramelize and blacken the garlic without burning too quickly. This takes about 10–15 minutes; garlic will first turn golden brown, then darken to mahogany and near-black. Reduce heat if garlic browns too fast.

When garlic pieces are deeply browned to black (not charred-smelling), remove pan from heat. Let cool slightly, then pour the garlic and oil through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl. Reserve the blackened bits if desired. Stir in a splash (~5 ml) black sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Store at room temperature for short term or refrigerate. Use about 1/2 tbsp per bowl.

Prepare toppings ahead: warm the menma in its liquid or a splash of broth; reheat corn in a small pan or microwave until hot; slice chashu and warm briefly in a pan or microwave if chilled; have soft-boiled ajitama ready halved.

Heat broth

Reheat strained broth to a gentle simmer. Keep hot but avoid boiling aggressively. If making multiple bowls, keep broth on low simmer and ladle as needed.

Prepare tare per bowl

Place 1.5–2 tablespoons (about 25–30 ml) of the shoyu tare into each ramen bowl. Adjust amount by taste and bowl size.

Cook noodles

Bring 3000 ml water to a rolling boil in a large pot with 1 tsp salt. Add fresh thick ramen noodles and cook according to package for thick noodles (usually 2–4 minutes) until al dente. Stir to prevent sticking. Drain quickly in a colander and shake off excess water.

Add noodles to bowls over the tare. Immediately ladle 600–700 ml (adjust to bowl size) hot broth over the noodles, mixing lightly with the tare to create the soup base.

Top each bowl with 3–4 slices of chashu, 1/4 cup hot corn, 2–3 tbsp menma, 1 halved soft-boiled egg, 1 tbsp sliced scallions, a small drizzle (1/2–1 tsp) of black garlic oil per bowl, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Add optional chili oil to taste.

Serve immediately while hot.