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Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Cookbook author Hugh Amano notes that, as developed in ramen-yas, ramen is the perfect restaurant dish: prep heavy and simple to finish in a hurry. He adapted this recipe from his book Let’s Make Ramen! to streamline it for the home cook.
Note from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
The keys to the best tonkotsu ramen broth are time and using the best possible ingredients. This recipe is a labor of love. You’ll need a couple of days to prepare all the components. But trust us when we say the results are well worth it.
Ingredients
Stock
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2 pounds chicken bones or 1 whole chicken carcass
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2 pounds pork neck bones or pork ribs
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1 (1- to 2-pound) pork trotter, halved lengthwise
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1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
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1 (6-inch) piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 3/4 cup)
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4 to 6 quarts cold water
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1 (8- x 4-inch) kombu sheet
Chashu Pork
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3 tablespoons canola oil
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1 (1 1/2-pounds) boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
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3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
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1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
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1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 1/4 cup)
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1 de árbol chile
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1/2 cup mirin
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1/2 cup sake
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6 tablespoons shoyu
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2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
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2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Pickled Mushrooms
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2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 1 1/4 cups)
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1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
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1/4 cup shoyu
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1/4 cup water
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1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a Microplane grater (about 1 teaspoon)
Ramen
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4 to 6 (about 3-ounce) bundles dried ramen noodles
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1 cup shoyu
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1/4 cup mirin
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1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
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1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
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Kosher salt, to taste
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3 tablespoons canola oil, divided, plus more as needed
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4 baby bok choy (about 1 1/2 ounces each), halved lengthwise
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1/4 cup water
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4 to 6 soft-cooked eggs
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4 to 6 small (about 4- x 3-inch) nori sheets
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Chile oil (optional)
Directions
Prepare the Stock
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Place chicken bones, pork bones, trotter, scallions, and ginger in a large stockpot; cover with cold water, noting water level in stockpot. Bring to a rapid boil over high, skimming off and discarding any foam and scum that rises to the surface. Boil for at least 6 hours or up to 16 hours, replenishing water to original level every hour or so. Allow Stock to reduce without replenishment during final 1 hour of cooking, letting Stock reduce to roughly 2 quarts (this may take up to 2 hours). Remove Stock from heat; stir in kombu and let cool at room temperature for about 1 hour. Pour Stock through a coarse mesh strainer into a large bowl; then pour Stock through a fine mesh strainer into a separate large bowl, discarding solids. Cover and refrigerate until Stock is fully gelatinized, about 12 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the Chashu Pork
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Heat a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high; add oil. Add pork and sear until golden brown on at least 2 sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pork to a plate and set aside. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic, scallions, ginger, and chile; cook, stirring often, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Carefully add mirin, sake, shoyu, rice wine vinegar, and brown sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 30 seconds. Return pork to Dutch oven, nestling it among ingredients. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover Dutch oven tightly with lid; simmer pork, flipping and basting every 30 minutes, until pork is tender enough to easily yield to a poke from a chopstick and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 180°F, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If a lot of cooking liquid evaporates during cooking process, add just enough water to keep bottom of Dutch oven covered. Let chashu cool in its cooking liquid at room temperature, about 1 hour; cover (still in its liquid) and refrigerate 12 hours.
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While chashu chills, prepare the Pickled Mushrooms: Bring water in a medium saucepan to a boil over high. Remove from heat and stir in mushrooms; cover and let soak until mushrooms are softened and doubled in size, 15 minutes. Drain mushrooms and thinly slice. Place mushrooms in a heatproof container. Bring rice wine vinegar, shoyu, water, and grated ginger to a boil in a small pot over high. Pour vinegar mixture over mushrooms and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 12 hours.
Prepare the Ramen
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Remove Pickled Mushrooms from refrigerator and let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare noodles according to package directions.
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While noodles cook, skim congealed fat from top of Stock using a spoon; reserve fat for another use. Place Stock in a medium pot and bring to a simmer over medium. Add shoyu, mirin, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil, stirring to combine; season with salt to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until ready to serve.
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Remove chashu from cooking liquid, reserving liquid for another use. Cut pork into 1/4-inch slices. Working in 3 batches, heat a large skillet over medium-high; add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Place pork slices in a single layer in skillet and cook until browned, about 1 minute per side; set aside.
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Add bok choy, cut side down, to skillet and cook, undisturbed, until browned, about 1 minute. Add water; cover skillet, steaming bok choy until vibrant green and slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
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Ladle about 2 cups of hot Stock into each of 4 warm bowls. Drain noodles and divide evenly among each bowl, arranging noodles neatly. Gently arrange 2 bok choy halves in each bowl; fan 3 to 4 chashu slices on top of noodles. Top each bowl with about 1/4 cup Pickled Mushrooms and 1 egg; place 1 nori sheet behind toppings. Serve immediately with chile oil on the side, if desired.