🇯🇵 Tonkotsu Ramen

Tonkotsu ramen is defined by its broth. Pork bones are boiled hard for hours until the fat and collagen emulsify into a milky white liquid. It is rich, creamy, and deeply savoury. The chashu pork and marinated egg complete the bowl.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg Pork Trotters
• 1 kg Pork Bones
• 1 Garlic Head
• 3-inch Ginger
• 2 Onions
• 1 Leek
• 800 g Pork Belly
• 1 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup Mirin
• 1/2 cup Sake
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 6 portions Ramen Noodles
• 6 Marinated Soft-Boiled Eggs
• Wood Ear Mushrooms
• Scallions
• Nori

Method

1. Blanch bones 15 min. Drain and wash.
2. Boil bones in 6 L water 6–8 hours, replenishing water.
3. Add aromatics in the last 2 hours. Strain.
4. Simmer soy, mirin, sake, sugar, and pork belly 1.5 hours. Slice pork.
5. Cook noodles 60–90 seconds.
6. Add Tare to bowl, pour in hot broth, add noodles.
7. Top with chashu, egg, mushrooms, scallions, and nori.

History

Tonkotsu ramen was invented in Kurume, a city in Fukuoka Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, in the 1930s. A ramen shop owner named Tokio Miyamoto developed a technique for boiling pork bones so hard and so long that the fat and collagen emulsified into the water, producing a thick, milky broth. The style spread across Kyushu and then across Japan, and is now one of the two most popular ramen styles (the other being shoyu, or soy-based). Hakata, the largest city in Fukuoka, is particularly famous for tonkotsu ramen, and the Hakata style — thin, firm noodles, rich broth, and a simple set of toppings — is the one most imitated worldwide.

The science

The milky appearance of tonkotsu broth is the result of an emulsion — fat droplets suspended in water, held in place by collagen-derived gelatin. This emulsion only forms when the broth is boiled hard and continuously, because the mechanical agitation breaks the fat into tiny droplets that can be suspended. A gently simmered broth will never become milky, no matter how long you cook it. The collagen itself comes from the connective tissue in the pork bones, and it needs hours of cooking to break down into gelatin, which is what gives the broth its rich, mouth-coating texture. The fat content is also important — the emulsion requires fat to form, so a broth made from lean bones will be thin no matter how long you cook it.

Substitutions

Pork trotters and neck bones are the traditional choice, but you can use any pork bones with plenty of connective tissue — ham hocks and pork shoulder bones work well. For a chicken version (tori paitan), use chicken carcasses and feet instead of pork, and boil the same way. The chashu pork belly can be replaced with braised beef or even a marinated tofu for a vegetarian bowl, though the broth itself is inherently meat-based. Ramen noodles are available fresh or dried in most supermarkets and Asian groceries — the thin, straight Hakata-style noodles are the right choice for this broth.

Chef's tip

The hard rolling boil is what makes the broth milky — do not simmer gently.

Drink pairing

Asahi or Sapporo beer. The crisp, dry character of a Japanese lager is the traditional pairing and helps cut through the richness of the broth. A sake (junmai ginjo) is also excellent.