Black Garlic Ramen (i-e-kei) Recipe

Roast and blanch bones

Preheat oven to 220°C (430°F). Lay pork bones on a roasting tray and roast 30 minutes until browned. Transfer bones to a large stockpot, cover with cold water, bring to a rolling boil 10 minutes, then drain and rinse bones to remove scum. Clean the pot.

Simmer broth

Return cleaned bones to the pot with chicken carcass, halved onion, halved garlic heads, sliced ginger and 5 liters fresh water. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Skim any foam for the first 30–60 minutes. Simmer uncovered for 6–8 hours (ideally 8) until broth is rich and milky. Add 2 tbs kosher salt in the last 30 minutes, adjust seasoning to taste. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve, discard solids, and keep broth hot. (If short on time, pressure-cook 2–3 hours.)

Combine dark soy, light soy, mirin and sake in a small saucepan with kombu. Warm gently over low heat for 5 minutes (do not boil) to extract kombu flavor, remove kombu, then add bonito flakes off heat and steep 5 minutes. Strain tare into a container. Keep warm. This yields the concentrated flavor base; use about 60–80 ml tare per bowl (adjust to taste).

Make black garlic purée

Place peeled black garlic cloves in a small blender or mortar. Add 2 tbs of the neutral oil and blend to a smooth paste. If too thick, add up to 1–2 tbs more oil. Set aside.

Infuse oil with black garlic

In a small saucepan, warm remaining neutral oil over low heat until it reaches about 120–140°C (no smoking). Remove from heat and whisk in the black garlic purée and 1 tsp sesame oil. Let steep 10 minutes, then strain into a jar, reserving some paste if you prefer a chunkier oil. This is the kuro-yu (black garlic oil).

Crisp the garlic

In a small skillet, heat 2–3 tbs neutral oil over medium heat. Add thinly sliced fresh garlic and fry until golden brown and crisp, about 1–2 minutes. Remove immediately onto paper towel and season with 1 tsp salt. Use as garnish (fried garlic chips).

Roll and tie the pork belly if not already. Combine 1 liter water, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, smashed garlic and sliced ginger in a pot. Bring to a simmer, add the pork belly, cover and simmer gently for 1.5–2 hours until tender when pierced. Alternatively, braise at 160°C (320°F) in an oven for 1.5–2 hours. Let pork cool in the cooking liquid to absorb flavor (at least 1 hour). Remove, slice into 1 cm thick rounds—use 1 piece per bowl.

Prepare toppings: blanch spinach in boiling water 20–30 seconds until bright green, plunge into ice water, squeeze out excess water and season lightly with a pinch of salt. Slice chashu, halve ajitsuke eggs, cut nori into strips and slice scallions.

Cook noodles

Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Cook fresh thick ramen noodles according to package or 90–120 seconds until al dente. Stir to separate. Reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of noodle cooking water if you want to adjust broth texture. Drain noodles well.

Assemble each bowl

For each bowl (serves 4 total): place about 60–80 ml of tare into the bottom of a warmed ramen bowl. Add about 600 ml hot strained pork-chicken broth (adjust to taste) and stir to combine with tare. Add noodles to the broth. Arrange toppings: 1 slice chashu pork, a small handful of squeezed blanched spinach, 2 slices naruto, 1 ajitsuke egg half (or 1 whole halved), 1 nori sheet or strips, and a sprinkle of sliced scallions and white sesame. Spoon 1–2 teaspoons of black garlic oil over the surface (more if you want a stronger black garlic flavor). Finish with a small pinch of fried garlic chips and a crack of black pepper.

Serve immediately while hot. Provide extra tare and black garlic oil on the side for personal adjustment.