From the road · Japan

Tokyo-Style Clear Shoyu Ramen

Name: Tokyo-Style Clear Shoyu Ramen
Total time: 75 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken backs or wings (broth); 500 g pork bones or pork shoulder (broth); 4 litres water (broth); 1 onion, halved; 4 garlic cloves; 30 g ginger; 2 scallions; 10 g kombu (broth); 20 g katsuobushi (broth); salt, only if needed; 200 ml soy sauce (tare); 100 ml sake (tare); 100 ml mirin (tare); 20 g sugar (tare); 5 g kombu (tare); 10 g katsuobushi (tare); 3 tablespoons reserved chashu braising liquid (tare); 800 g pork belly (chashu); 150 ml soy sauce (chashu); 100 ml sake (chashu); 100 ml mirin (chashu); 2 tablespoons sugar (chashu); water, to cover (chashu); 4 portions fresh ramen noodles; cooked bamboo shoots or menma; blanched greens; nori; scallions, sliced

From Chef Shun

Never let it boil. A hard boil turns the broth cloudy. A lazy simmer for four hours is the whole difference.

Not rated yet·0 notes

Total1 hr 15 min

LevelHard

AheadYes

4h broth + 2–3h chashu braise, and the pork chills before it slices

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Method

I left notes on 5 steps.

1
The broth. Blanch the chicken and pork 5 minutes, then rinse every piece clean under running water. Scrub the pot too.Timer: 5 minThis is the step everybody skips, and it's why their broth comes out grey. You're washing off the scum before it has anywhere to go.
2
Cover with fresh water and bring it up to a very gentle simmer. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and scallions. Cook 3 to 4 hours.Never let it boil. A hard boil emulsifies the fat into the liquid and you get a cloudy tonkotsu. A lazy simmer keeps it clear. That's chintan, and that's the whole game here.
3
Add the kombu for the final 30 minutes only.Timer: 30 min
4
Pull the kombu out. Kill the heat, add the katsuobushi, and let it sit 5 minutes. Strain carefully. Don't press the solids.Timer: 5 min
5
The chashu. Roll the pork belly into a tight log and tie it with twine. Sear it on all sides until it's brown.It's braised, not roasted. I had this wrong for years.
6
Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and enough water to cover. Cover the pot and braise gently 2 to 3 hours, until a knife goes through it with no resistance.
7
Chill the pork completely before you slice it. Warm chashu shreds. Cold chashu cuts clean. Reserve some of the braising liquid for the tare.
8
The tare. Warm the soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and the reserved chashu liquid together until the sugar dissolves. Don't boil it.
9
Off the heat, add the kombu and katsuobushi and steep 10 minutes. Strain.Timer: 10 minThis is the part every shop guards. Same broth, different tare, and you're eating shoyu or shio or miso. The tare decides what the bowl is.
10
The bowl. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of tare into the bottom of each bowl. Nothing else yet.
11
Cook the noodles separately and drain them hard. Into the bowl, then pour about 350 ml of hot broth over the top.Never cook noodles in your broth. The starch clouds it and you just spent four hours keeping it clear.
12
Top with the chashu, greens, bamboo shoots, nori, and scallions. Serve it immediately. Ramen doesn't wait.