Tonkatsu ramen recipe
"Making the perfect tonkatsu is a life’s work for most ramen masters: legends are told of chefs who hand crack all the pork bones or keep a master mother broth for decades, reserving some from each batch to start the next. You can take this recipe that seriously, if you want. Or you can just think about it as a fun kitchen project and a delicious dinner."
This recipe is quick to make but you need to prepare the broth in advance and that takes a while. Perhaps have the broth for a meal on a Sunday and use the ramen recipe as a quick Monday dinner. The broth ingredients will yield around 4 litres, so cut the quantities in half if you don't want twice as much to use for another day. It's probably worth using the full quantities though, because of the time involved in making the broth!
Ingredients
For the broth- 40 g dried mushroom powder
- 2 tbsp five-spice powder
- 70 g salt
- 30 g brown sugar
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 900 g bone-in pork shoulder
- 100 g sliced ginger
- 2 Vidalia onions, sliced
- 2 heads garlic, sliced
- 1 pig trotter, sliced crosswise
- 450 g meaty chicken bones (wings, drumsticks, neck, etc)
- 680 g fresh ramen noodles
- 2 l pork broth (steps 1-6)
- 3 tbsp shiro miso
- 220 g shredded pork shoulder
- 55 g diced tofu
- 55 g sliced scallion
- 6 sheets dried kombu
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp bonito flakes
- 6 eggs
- 15 g salted butter OR pork fat
Details
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 10 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- Make the pork broth. Combine the dried mushroom powder, five-spice powder, salt, brown sugar, and paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture onto the pork shoulder.
- Place the meat onto a platter, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the meat to absorb the flavours of the rub. Refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, turning the meat occasionally.
- Preheat the broiler. Spread the ginger, onions and garlic on a baking sheet and char under the broiler or place in a grilling basket and char on the grill.
- Turn the oven to 140C/gas mark 1. Rinse the pig trotter in hot water for 5 minutes. Rinse the chicken bones in hot water for 5 minutes. In a large roasting pan, layer the chicken bones, then the pig trotter, and then the pork shoulder. Add enough water to cover the bones and then cover the pan. Roast low and slow for 6 hours.
- When the meat is done roasting, remove from the oven and let cool. Remove the bone from the pork shoulder. Return the bone to the roasting pan. Shred the pork shoulder with two forks and reserve for use elsewhere, refrigerated and covered with some liquid from the roasting pan. Strain the liquid and add back to the roasting pan.
- Transfer the roasting pan to the stove top. Add the charred ginger, onions and garlic to the strained liquid. Simmer over low heat for at least 8 hours, adding water as needed to maintain a volume of about 4 litres.
- To cook your eggs: bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Fill the bowl with water and ice to make an ice bath.
- Add the eggs to the boiling water and set a timer for 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Remove the eggs from the boiling water and place them in the ice bath for 1 minute. Peel the eggs.
- Fill the pasta pot with water and season with salt until it tastes like seawater. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook the ramen for 2 to 4 minutes, to your taste.
- Divide the broth among 6 bowls. Divide the shiro miso among the bowls and whisk into the broth. Divide the noodles among the bowls and stir immediately to prevent clumping.
- Serve with the pork shoulder, tofu, scallion, kombu, sesame seeds, bonito flakes, eggs, and butter for garnishing.
Recipe taken from Noodle Kids: Around the World in 50 Fun, Healthy, Creative Recipes the Whole Family Can Cook Together by Jonathon Sawyer, published by Quarry Books.
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