Tonkotsu Ramen

Method

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1. Cover the trotters and neck bones with cold water, bring to a rolling boil for 15 minutes, then drain and scrub every bone clean under running water. Scrub the pot too.

   Mark done Start 15 min timer

2. Return the clean bones to the pot, cover with 5 litres of fresh water and bring to a hard, rolling boil. Keep it there — this is the opposite of stock-making.

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3. Boil for 8 hours, topping up with boiling water to keep the bones submerged and stirring every hour to keep the emulsion moving. The broth will turn opaque and creamy white.

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4. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and spring onion whites for the final hour, then strain through a coarse sieve, pressing hard. You should have 2 litres.

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5. For the chashu, simmer the rolled pork belly in the soy sauce, mirin, sake and 400 ml water for 90 minutes, turning occasionally. Cool in the liquid, then chill and slice thinly. Reserve the liquid as your tare.

   Mark done Start 90 min timer

6. For the ajitama, boil the eggs for exactly 6.5 minutes, shock in ice water, peel, and marinate in 200 ml of the cooled tare for at least 4 hours.

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7. To serve, put 3 tablespoons of tare in each hot bowl and add 400 ml of boiling-hot broth. Whisk in a teaspoon of sesame oil.

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8. Boil the noodles for 60 to 90 seconds only, drain hard, and lower into the bowls in a neat fold.

   Mark done Start 60 sec timer

9. Top with chashu, a halved ajitama, menma, nori and spring onion. Eat immediately, and loudly.

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Chef’s Tips

• Ask your butcher to split the trotters. Whole ones will not release their collagen properly.
• Do not salt the broth. All seasoning comes from the tare in the bottom of the bowl, which lets you tune each serving.
• Warm your bowls with boiling water. Ramen broth loses 10°C the moment it hits a cold bowl.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• Cold Japanese lager or barley tea
• Serve gyoza on the side
• Finish with a matcha ice cream

Storage & Reheating

The broth keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months — it will set to a solid jelly, which is a sign you did it right. Never store assembled ramen; the noodles disintegrate.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.