tonkotsu ramen at home

Making tonkotsu ramen at home is truly a labour of love. This isn’t some 15 minute miracle insta-ramen recipe. This isn’t even some one day recipe.

Making authentic tonkotsu ramen takes time. It takes effort. You have to be a bit crazy to go there. But it’s so good. It’s totally worth it.

Bowlful of tonkotsu ramen with Momofuku pork belly from above.

There are restaurants in Japan that do nothing but make tonkotsu ramen. Just big wonderful pots of the most amazing broth.

Perfect noodles. Silky eggs and unbelievable pork. I’ve had it. And I love it.

This recipe may not quite hit the level of Japanese ramen making. People have devoted their whole lives to mastering the art.

But it’s pretty damn good. And it’s way cheaper than a plane ticket to Narita.

There are five major ingredients

Tonkotsu ramen has five major ingredients. Broth. Noodles. Pork. Egg. Tare. Each is important and each takes some doing.

Tonkotsu broth is the heart and soul of any tonkotsu ramen. It’s not difficult but it takes time – 12 to 18 hours. Mostly unattended but you can’t rush this.

You can make lots and freeze it though. Two bowls or twenty. Doesn’t matter at all as long as you have a big enough pot.

Bowl of bacon tare with uncooked noodles and spoon from above.

The noodles are key

The noodles are the backbone. Noodles were where I struggled the most. The fresh ramen I can get in town sucks. Like really sucks.

Ramen noodles are different. They are alkalinated. That’s a fancy way of saying you put baking soda in the dough.

Asian stores sell dried Japanese ramen. Look for sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate in the ingredient list.

If you can’t find any, another trick is to boil spaghettini or capellini in 8 cups of water with 2 Tbsp of baking soda. That works too.

Please don’t use packaged dry instant ramen noodles. Those are completely different.

I like them in an I like KFC sort of way (as in I eat it once every few years and then wonder why I did that) but for this they are so wrong…

The pork is called chashu. It’s marinated pork belly and it’s magic stuff. I do mine sous vide for 11 hours at 170F. Conventionally cooked chashu recipes are all over the internet.

Chopsticks holding a big scoopful of noodles above the bowl.

The eggs and the seasoning

Tonkotsu ramen is usually served with medium boiled eggs. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as medium boiled egg until I discovered ramen.

Medium boiled is about a 7 minute egg. The whites are firm. The yolk are just barely set.  Just so good.

The tare is the flavour base. This is where you take your ramen in your direction. It can be as simple as salt or as complicated as bacon infused sweet soy miso tare. Up to you.

Pull these 5 elements together and you have wonder in a bowl. If you don’t understand why you’re reading this and think I’m crazy google the best ramen joint in your town.

Go taste for yourself. Then judge me. It may seem daunting but it’s a few manageable steps. Totally doable if you want it bad enough.

This is adapted from several recipes from the internet. The soy bacon tare is a based on David Chang’s Momofuku Tare 2.0.

The chashu pork marinade is from Serious Eats. The tonkotsu ramen broth is the best of a bunch of recipes on the net.

Tonkotsu ramen. It’s real work. But it is so worth it.

Spoonful of tonkotsu ramen broth above the bowl.

Update: Since I wrote this post I learned how to make Momofuku pork belly. If you’re interested I actually got a lesson in the kitchen at Momofuku Las Vegas. So I’m pretty sure it’s the real deal.

I still love the sous vide chashu pork belly and make it regularly. But the Momofuku pork belly is really good too. And you don’t need a sous vide to make it. 

I’ve taken new pictures since this was first published. The new pictures have the Momofuku pork belly in them.

So if you make chashu pork don’t be alarmed if it looks different. It is different. I cannot decide which one I like better. 

Medium boiled eggs in a bowl of ramen broth
Tonkotsu ramen with egg, pork belly, enoki mushroom and green onion garnish
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4.84 from 96 votes

tonkotsu ramen

Tonkotsu ramen is an excellent introduction to Japanese noodle soups. Deeply flavoured tonkotsu pork broth, ramen noodles and chashu pork belly come together to create comfort in a bowl.
Course Main
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 30 minutes
Servings 4 bowls
Calories 1262kcal
Author romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

Tonkotsu ramen

  • 8 cups tonkotsu pork broth – recipe link below
  • 12 oz good quality dried ramen noodles
  • 4 large or extra large eggs
  • 2-3 oz enoki or other mushrooms
  • thinly sliced green onions

Chashu pork belly

  • 2 lb pork belly – rolled and tied
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup sake
  • 1/2 cup mirin – sweet Japanese wine
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2-3 cloves garlic – left whole
  • 2 green onions – coarsely chopped

Soy bacon tare

  • 2 slices bacon – use good quality bacon here
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp mirin
  • 2 Tbsp sake
  • 4 Tbsp shiro miso

Miso Tare

  • 1/2 cup shiro miso
  • 1/4 cup sake
  • 1/4 cup mirin
  • pinch shichimi togarashi (optional)
  • 1-2 tsp kosher salt – depending on how salty you like your ramen.

Instructions

Chashu pork belly

  • Combine the soy, sake, mirin, sugar, garlic and green onions in a ziploc bag large enough to hold the pork belly. Stick a straw in the bag and seal the ziploc bag up against it (so the straw is the only opening). Suck as much of the air out as you can and seal.
  • Sous vide the pork for 10-11 hours at 170F.
  • Remove pork from the ziploc bag. Discard the bag and marinade.
  • Let the chashu pork belly cool completely.
  • Slice across the chashu pork (so you get bacon like slices) – into 8-12 slices about 1/8 to 3/16 inches thick. Reserve. You won’t need all the pork for 4 servings.

Soy bacon tare

  • Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Simmer at the lowest setting for about an hour. Top up with a bit of chicken stock if needed.
  • Remove the bacon.

Miso tare

  • Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer at the lowest setting for about 5 minutes.

Medium boiled eggs

  • Bring enough water to cover the eggs to a boil. If you have a way to prick the eggshell do it. Boil large eggs for 6 minutes 30 seconds. If using extra large eggs boil them for 7 minutes 30 seconds. You may have to adjust your times slightly depending on the exact size of your eggs but this should get you pretty close.
  • Submerge the eggs in cold or ice water to chill. This stops the egg yolks from continuing to set up. Peel. Cut in half right before you serve your tonkotsu ramen.

Assemble the tonkotsu ramen

  • Boil the ramen noodles in plenty of water as directed by the packaging. If there’s no translation on the packaging usually its 4 minutes. You don’t need to salt the water.
  • Cook the mushrooms along side the noodles – you just want them softened.
  • Gently fry the chashu pork in a non-stick skillet until lightly browned.
  • Place 1/4 of whichever tare you are using in the bottom of four bowls.
  • Ladle in about 1/2 cup of the tonkotsu broth into each of the bowls and stir to mix.
  • Add the noodles. Pour in another 1 1/2 cups of the tonkotsu broth per bowl.
  • Top with the egg, mushrooms, pork and green onions.

Notes

I’ve provided 2 different tare recipes. Use one or the other or come up with your own.
If you use the miso tare, you can salt your broth directly. That is easier than guessing how salty you want your tare.
If you aren’t up for making chashu pork you can substitute roasted pork shoulder. It would be an awesome use of leftover pork roast…
 
The recipe for tonkotsu ramen broth can be found here.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 1262kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 71g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 252mg | Sodium: 2803mg | Potassium: 623mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 1.9mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 3.6mg
Authentic tonkotsu ramen. Tonkotsu ramen broth. Chashu pork. Medium boiled egg. Delicious.

171 thoughts on “tonkotsu ramen at home”

  1. 5 stars
    I’ve attempted ramen before, and never ended up happy with it. Your recipe and technique (the broth especially) turned out fantastic! The noodles were the most challenging to source locally (I’m sure I could order online), but I found some. I chose to use a cut of pork shoulder and a 20 hour sous vide (at 150) with your (non-Momofuku) seasoning for my chashu, and it was the perfect, tender slice. Thanks for a really great recipe! I just finished filling my freezer with portioned broth and pork for on-demand ramen!

    Reply
    • It’s a bit of an undertaking but there’s no way around it that I can figure out – except maybe visit your house before you run out:-)

  2. 5 stars
    Labor of foodie love but definitely worth it! This is the best recipe, 2 days worth of work but it’s amazing! We did the Chashu pork belly with it and the broth was amazing! I did roast the pork bones in the oven after the initial boil before starting the 12 hour boil and it still came out milky white!

    Reply
  3. 5 stars
    I spent all day making this yesterday. I made your sous vide pork belly and it was divine. Next time I will try the Momofoku process. My husband wanted to invite friends over, but I was NOT willing to share…lol. We live in northern Nevada where there is NO good ramen. This recipe is a blessing, I can’t wait to finish it tonight. Next time I will absolutely double the broth recipe (I’d triple it if I had the pot capacity). My husband squinched (I know, not a word) his nose when I told him what I was making, but he couldn’t talk while eating it. He just kept moaning and saying how delicious it was. I think he’s a convert. I also marinated the eggs in soy, mirin and sake. Delicious as well. My granddaughter and her boyfriend are coming for Christmas. This has definitely made it onto the food plan while they are here. Thank you so much for something we can replicate at home! Fabulous!

    Reply
    • Into the Christmas rotation! That’s awesome to hear:-)

      I always make double but I’d make triple too if I had a bigger pot. Hope you enjoy the Momofuku version next time.

    • It’s skinless. And you don’t absolutely have to tie it. It just looks nice when sliced. As I mention in the text I have started using the Momofuku pork belly approach (there is a recipe on glebekitchen) and that updated approach is what is in the new pictures. It seems I have unwittingly created confusion…

  4. 5 stars
    Hi Romain, this has long been on my list and I finally got around to do it (I did the Chashu pork belly plus soy bacon tare version). Boy was it worth the effort! Stunningly good!!

    I simply loved the flavors in the pork belly even if they came out pretty mild. Is there any good way of increasing the intensity? Cook for longer in the sous vide? Or leave overnight in the fridge to marinate in the ziplock bag?

    Thanks a million for sharing this recipe!!

    Reply
  5. Hi, I’m in the process of making your ramen recipe. I am using my Emeril Lagasse air fryer pressure cooker to sous vide the chashu pork. Do I have to put water on the pot? If⁸ so, how much water should I put?

    Reply
    • I’m sorry. I don’t even own an air fryer so I really can’t offer any advice. Does your appliance have a sous vide function?

  6. Thank you for your recipe. I nailed it on my first try. I cooked extra broth and store them in the freezer. No need to go out for ramen anymore. I also cooked chashu pork 🤌🤌🤌 only if I could share photos of my ramen with you. For ramen noodles, I went to my local ramen restaurant and asked for raw noodles. I bought 10 serves, stored them all in the freezer. Yummy!

    Reply
    • You are very welcome. I wish I had a way for you to share the pics with me as well. Love that you got your noodles from a local ramen restaurant. That sounds awesome!

    • I looked pretty hard to try to understand your question. There are two tare recipes given. Each of these make enough for 4 bowls of ramen (the recipe is for 4 servings) so 1/4 of the total tare you choose is right for 1 bowl. Hope that clears things up!

  7. I love ramen, but seriously…for the amount of work (unless you REAlly enjoy it) I’ve found my time better spent on mastering other skills; making my own pate choux or croissant dough is laborious, as well–just buy the frozen pastry dough. As for ramen, do the same: buy the ‘instant’ ramen tonkotsu; it provides the oils and the powder and the proper noodles. Add your veggies as you will. The only thing I make on my own is the actual chashu pork–that’s a bit of work, but considering how often one might make ramen…save yourself the time. Japanese ramen packages are quick and easy and reasonably tasty!

    Reply
    • As someone who is new to ramen except bagged products recipe seems great . As I am a chef and shop many discount stores near me who have no idea the products they are selling or just trying to move items/ Sysco wholesale I picked up 3 , 2 plus pounds packs of chashu pork after cooked .. Ramen is Smacking now

    • Ha. I really didn’t understand the point of his comment. I thought maybe some cocktails might have been involved:-)

  8. In both of your pork belly recipes I see you roll and tie it.
    For my education why do you do that? Especially asking since you cut it bacon style versus a pinwheel style.
    Is it just for ease of bagging and fitting? Or other more important reason?

    BTW – Not challenging you on it as I have only made a couple of pork bellies! I did them flat, sous vide, no recipe. I had intended to try to create crispy pork belly but found they had no skin! But they made very tender pork roast.

    Reply
    • It’s to fit it in the bag. I do serve it pinwheel style sometimes. Depends how big the roll and how I think it will look in the bowl.

      I’ve been doing it Momdofuku style for a while now. That’s flat. I got the lesson at Momofuku after I published this recipe.

      You’ve reminded me that I had been playing with a crispy pork technique a while back but now I can’t remember it and I didn’t write it down (I should know better). IIRC I poked a bunch of holes in the skin, roasted it off skin side up to around 145F, then cut portions and fried it skin side down. I might have just dropped it in a dry pan and fried it as the pork rendered it into the pan. I will need to tinker to see if I can remember and actually write a post about it so I don’t forget again.

  9. 5 stars
    Dude! thanks for this recipe, and equally so the breakdown to de-mystify ramen making ! We’re in Portland, OR and have had some great ramen spots but to make / try at home is more than fun!

    On the broth, we took all the bones ( and a bit of meat) from a side of pork ribs ( done in the pellet grill the night before 220/4hrs) , and ran the program of 12-16 hr boil…added a bit of garlic powder along w/ the onion and mushroom.

    On the tare, we used shiro miso and equal parts mirin and sake..i ll do less mirin next time as it can make it too sweet.

    for the pork, we sliced off some tenderloin and did a quick flash and threw it in along w/a 7 minute egg + green onions… To see my son taking the bowl and drinking straight from it to finish means it’s good.!

    Still working to source good noodles…our were buckwheat soba style but they went down fine….

    Thanks again!

    Reply
    • You are very welcome. Sounds like it was a big hit. Maybe try the alkalinated spaghettini trick for noodles until you can find some locally?

  10. I had a few questions with sourcing ingredients, is there certain brands you use/recommend. I’m especially lost with the shiro miso. I went to my local Asian market and was overwhelmed with options. If you could send some links to the items you use or things to look out for it would be a great help!

    Reply
    • Look for Hon Mirin – that’s a type of mirin, not a brand. I use Shirokiku shiro miso because it’s readily available where I am. Shiro miso is the mildest of the misos so it is hard to go wrong. I get Hime brand dried ramen noodles. They are from Japan and are alkalinated (contain a carbonate as an ingredient). For this dish I use typically use Kikkomen soy. You want to stick to a Japanese soy for this. It is amazing how different soy from different countries can be. Sake I use what I can get at our local liquor stores. Sake isn’t a big thing where I am so I cannot be too picky unfortunately.

      Hope this helps.

  11. I made this last weekend and it turned out amazingly delicious. It hit all the right spots on a cold winter day. A few modifications that I made was adding slices from a 1” knob of ginger to the broth so it doesn’t smell so “bony” when cooking for 12 hours. I also marinated the soft boiled eggs overnight in a mixture of 4 tbs soy sauce, 4 tbs mirin, 4 tbs sake, and 1 tsp sugar to give the eggs some depth of flavor. As far as adding a variety of toppings, I used sprouts, wooded ear mushrooms, and sweet corn.

    Reply
  12. Can’t wait to try!

    Under “Assemble…”, item #4: are you referring to the 1/4 of the volume of the bowl, 1/4 cup, or just 1/4 of the tare recipe? 🙂

    Just making sure!!

    Reply
  13. 5 stars
    I did it! I did everything exactly and it turned out perfect. Only thing I did extra was marinade the soft boiled eggs in a soy sauce mix. It added some extra flavor! I would double up the Tare recipe. I added more than a 1/4 cup to each bowl so tasty! I also doubled the broth recipe so I wouldn’t have to do it again haha but it was simple and a crowd pleaser.

    Reply
    • Awesome! I always make the biggest pot I can too. It freezes well so when I need a ramen fix in a hurry I’m good!

  14. 5 stars
    This recipe is delicious!!! It is amazing and honestly not hard to make on a lazy day at home. Make it with the momofuko pork belly and OMG it’s the best. Thank you!!! I imagine this is the ramen Naruto loves from Shippuden (also what I made to celebrate his birthday). 😍😍😍

    Reply
  15. Noodle substitute idea:
    I live in an area I cannot get Japanese groceries. I always substitute regular spaghetti noodles (I like Brilla) and add baking soda when boiling them. I don’t measure, but I probably add around 2 teaspoons of baking soda per 4 servings of dry spaghetti. It tastes like ramen noodles (egg noodles)! I learned this trick from Cookpad a long time ago, and it really works.
    Thanks for sharing this recipe. I am excited to try it.

    Reply
    • Absolutely. I mention this trick in the text of the post as well. I use spaghettini but spaghetti works too. Hope you enjoy your bowl of ramen!

  16. 5 stars
    Great food! I ordered the Shrimp Tempura and it was perfectly breaded.
    We had a large order for our office and our wonderful receptionist said she had no issues with multiple payments. Staff was very polite.

    Reply
    • Sounds like it was awesome but I think you left your review in the wrong place? Hoping you see this and let the actual restaurant know how happy you are with everything.

  17. Just a word about the eggs. Don’t boil them, steam them. Use a veggie steamer and get it rolling before you add the eggs. Use your timer and straight into the ice bath. Then peel them…carefully, they are less firm than hard boiled. Last but not least, ever wonder why those eggs are so good at your favorite ramen shop? They are marinated miso eggs. Marinade is miso, sake, mirin, in equal parts, some folks do rice vinegar and soy sauce. Which brings us to miso which is a whole other rabbit hole of wonder science to choose from.

    Reply
  18. 5 stars
    It looks like a lot of work, but every individual component of this recipe is pretty easy on its own – and man, is it worth it! This is seriously one of the best soups I’ve ever made, and I have made a LOT of soups. Was a bit skeptical of the 12 hour boil on the Tonkotsu broth, (like the recipe said, very different from how I normally cook stocks and broths) but it works great and extracts a ton of collagen from the bones. Very excited to make this again soon!

    Reply
  19. 5 stars
    I love me some good, real ramen too. I’ve had it in Japan and in the Philippines (made by Japanese people.) The broth is always so amazing. I didn’t know about the “alkalinized” noodles though, interesting. I’ll try this with some smoked meat and see how it goes!

    Reply
    • It’s really one of the great soups of the world. Hope you enjoy it! Never thought about trying it with smoked meat…

  20. I live in Seattle where we have no shortage of Asian grocery stores, included the very large Uwajimaya. I have three packages of ramen in my pantry, all purchased at one of these stores, and all made in Japan. None of them have any version of a carbonate. Is it hard to find the version of ramen you prefer, if I can’t find even find it in a large Japanese grocery store?

    Reply
    • I’m at a bit of a loss. I can get alkalinated ramen noodles (both fresh and dried) here pretty easily and I’m in Ottawa, Canada. No way we have better access to Japanese products than Seattle.

      Are you looking at instant ramen noodles by any chance? I’m using straight ramen noodles (look like little bundles of spaghettini).

    • We have a brand made here in Canada called Wings. They are called Yet-ca-mein, I get them at Wal-Mart. They have 3 different alkaline ingredients, both the ones mentioned and another. They ate a Chinese style noodle and are perfect for ramen. They are in a red, gold and black box.

  21. 5 stars
    I love this recepie- have made it twice and now it will be the main star at my Japanese Thanksgiving feast tomorrow! Can I make the soy bacon tare the night before and store in the fridge?

    Reply
    • Oh I wish I was invited to that feast! I’ve never made the tare the night before but I’m sure it will work fine. Happy Japanese Thanksgiving.

  22. This looks amazing but I noticed many other equally reputable recipes call for pork fatback. What would that do to this broth? They seem to use about one pound for 8 cups finished broth.

    Reply
  23. So happy to find your recipe! I just moved 8 hours away from a town that had fantastic Tonkotsu Raman to a big city where the offerings are mediocre at best. I look forward to trying my hand at making my own Raman with your recipe.

    Reply
    • I feel your pain. We’ve only started to get a little bit of decent tonkotsu ramen where I am – after years of nothing worth eating at all.

  24. 5 stars
    Just made this, and my boyfriend said it was in the top 3 of anything I’ve ever made for dinner! It was wonderful.I used pork leg bones, and they worked lovely.

    Reply
  25. Hi Romain,
    I’m kinda struggling to figure out what is Shiro Miso (or white Miso). Is it a paste, or any clue about the aspect would help me 🙂 even a web link to a product or picture would be great.
    Planning this whole project for next weekend, cannot wait !
    If I may ask, being named Romain, are you french ?
    Thank you

    Reply
  26. 5 stars
    Hi , I just finished making this ramen with the recipe and wow it tastes amazing !! I was wondering how long I can leave it refrigerated I plan on reheating some more 3 days from now for my family so I wasn’t sure if I can just leave it in the fridge till then or still have to freeze it?

    Reply
    • Awesome!

      3 days is right at the limit I would guess. I’d freeze it to make sure I didn’t lose any of that pure liquid gold. It would kill me to lose one drop of this broth personally…

  27. 5 stars
    Thank you for this fantastic recipe.
    Three weeks planning and three days cooking were totally justified by the depth of flavour from the bone stock.
    I substituted fino sherry for the sake in the miso tare.
    I live in Devon, UK. We have fantastic local produce, including rare breed pork. However the belly pork always seems to be fattier than what I see in your photo ( I did your momofuku pork recipe) and is really difficult to get the neat slices. I was considering cooling it down in the freezer next time before trying to cut it.
    I would request conversion of measurements to metric, but it seems part of the fun guesstimating quantities.

    I was planning to use some of the bone stock as a base for Lapaz Batchoy – a Filipino pork noodle soup. If you haven’t tried it, its well worth a slurp ( slurping is part of the traditional recipe)

    Reply
    • I love to slurp! Delighted you enjoyed it. Easy enough to convert to metric. 454g to the pound. 237ml to the cup. This isn’t baking though so the error bars are reasonably large.

  28. I’m so excited to make this. There is a great ramen restaurant nearby and we’ve been spending a little too much $ because we just love it so much. Can I use dried shiitake instead of white mushrooms?

    Reply
  29. 5 stars
    First off: you have no idea how ludicrously happy I was when I finally was able to try this recipe: forever grateful, tastes incredible. Beyond that though, I weirdly noticed that the broth (and then subsequently the soup itself) needed salt. I wound up with only 6 cups and it was plenty flavorful so I don’t think the bones were under-extracted, so i’m not exactly sure how that happened—maybe I needed to salt the tare? Anyway, many thanks again!

    Reply
    • So happy to hear you enjoyed it.

      The broth is not seasoned at all so definitely tastes under-salted. The tare is where the seasoning comes from. Maybe your shiro miso is less salty than the stuff I get. Mine is quite salty. My miso combined with the soy and bacon or added salt (in the miso tare) is quite a lot of salt. I like salt so under-salted is not a comment I get often. There’s something different in the ingredients of the tare I suspect.

      In any case, you have the ingredients you have and next time (I really hope there’s a next time) you’ll be ready.

  30. Hi! I haven’t had a chance to make this yet but am planning on surprising my boyfriend with this for his birthday. I was wondering if you have any recommendations for brands of dried ramen noodles?

    Reply
    • What an awesome surprise. I don’t do endorsements but the brand I use Hime ramen noodles from Japan. That said, I’ve finally managed to source decent fresh ramen noodles locally and I have to say I do like them better

    • 5 stars
      Made this over two days and it was excellent ! Definitely a labor of love but way easier than I expected. I really appreciate your thoroughness but also how you get straight to the point. Thanks also for the ramen noodle rec!

  31. I can’t wait to try this! My husband and I live in Dallas and have found a fantastic Ramen joint that serves wonderful tonkotsu ramen. I am ready to put in the effort to make my own! I was curious if you know how to make a spicy version? I’m guessing the spicy part would come from the tare? My husband prefers regular Tonkotsu and I am all about that spice!

    Reply
    • You are exactly right. The spice should go in the tare. Maybe ask your local joint what they use in their tare to make it spicy and duplicate that? As much as I love spice I am all about the regular Tonkotsu like your husband!

    • You’d be amazed what restaurants are willing to share. I’m always asking questions and talking my way into their kitchens.

  32. 5 stars
    Thanks for the great recipe! Talk about a labor of love, I tore my one hand open cleaning the bones and sliced the tip of my thumb on the other hand. The broth was so rich and delicious. I did the bacon tare. I also did a little spin on my eggs by soaking them in mirin, soy, garlic and brown sugar. Endless possibilities! It came together so well and was so beautiful I felt terrible eating it! I wish I could’ve shared a pic of my finished dish but couldn’t figure out how 🙁

    Thanks again!

    Reply
    • I’m sorry to hear you were injured! Glad you liked it though:-) The eggs sound wonderful and I’m sorry I don’t have a way to let you post pics. Would have loved to see it!

  33. 5 stars
    I really appreciate the depth this recipe went in to; I followed along all the steps, and everything came out perfect!

    The broth benefitted from a slightly longer (18 hour) boil, but I suppose the length of time is also dependant on the bones you’re using. Over all, this is a fabulous recipe and I so appreciate the time that went in to making this guide.

    (I ended up making my noodles from a recipe on Pinch and Swirl, and they were an ideal vehicle for this broth.)

    Reply
    • I’m always extra happy when I get comments on this post because I know I’ve heard from a serious food lover. So great to hear you enjoyed it!

  34. 5 stars
    I just made this recipe! Used pork back and pork neck bones. 6 lbs.
    I mixed this soup with 3 lbs of chicken feet. I have not tried it but I’m about to add miso tare to it. It looks amaazingly nice.
    I used 2 big white onions and alittle more mushrooms.
    Also every 45 mins I added water. This recipe was like creating art. It was fun. But sooo time consuming. The pork broth half way started to look less white and alittle orangey brown. Like a burnt white lol. But the color would tone down when I diluted.
    I used a super fine strain in the end atleast 3 times. And I was still able to strain a lot of fine grounded bone particles. At the end, I’ve made probably 10 gallon of liquid lol it’s a lot. But still looks nicely white and not diluted. I wish you could see the color of this broth! Thank you for sharing this recipe. So easy but time consuming haha.

    Reply
    • Awesome! You are absolutely right – it’s real work but I think it’s so worth it. And the addition of the chicken feet will make it even richer. I wish I could see the colour of your broth as well!

  35. It feels like such a waste to discard that beautiful broth and marinade from the sous vide. I’m repurposing it for the tare, but it of course needs a lot of extra soy sauce and salt. I wasn’t able to get pork bones so I’m going with boxed broth. I could find vegan ramen broth and thought that would work better than chicken or beef broth. I also have mushroom broth. Either way, the rendered pork juices coming along for the ride in the tare should help. It’s obvious in hindsight but also strange that we can’t find pork broth in American grocery stores. We eat a lot of pork and I can’t find the bones, either. Hmmm… any other thoughts on using those sous juices? Juices?

    Reply
  36. This recipe looks great! I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering though if additional water needs to be added to the soup base before serving with the ramen or is the base served as is? Thank you a lot

    Reply
  37. 5 stars
    I love this recipe very much. I followed your recipe, then I had a great meal. Thank you very much. This dish is both nutritious and delicious. I will make this for parties.

    Reply
  38. 5 stars
    I jUst made it two days ago, it as realy good! I’m so impressed with your recipe ? I made it last Tuesday and heated it up tonight, the soup and chasu pork taste so much better!! I can’t fine sake here in Melbourne, so I only used chinese cooking wine instead, it turned out awesome ? ?

    Reply
  39. I have a question about the water ratio, mainly because Im trying to be super lazy / go do other things. If I have a giant soup pot and can fill it well above the bones, can I add extra water so I dont have to check it as often? Would this somehow dilute the ultimate product or increase the cook time?

    Reply
    • I’ve never tried it but so long as you can maintain a rolling boil with your giant soup pot and reduce it appropriately at the end it should work…

  40. Roast the pork right before tasting will be so perfect. Thank you much!
    In spite of having not enough ingredients but it came out so well I think. I and my wife usually follow the recipe on internet and follow. You are one of favorite one she loves.

    Reply
  41. 5 stars
    Bro this was the most legit Ramen I’ve had in ages. 3day cook for me but oh so worth it. Devoured in 3 mins!! Thanks for the inspiration and detailed instructions

    Reply
  42. Hey, thank you for putting this up. We made it for birthday (today) and it totally worked. We did 2 separate batches simultaneously, one following your recipe, the other the exact same but w beef bones. I’ve had a bowl of the pork broth w momofuku pork belly and a tahini/ginger tare I threw together and its great, better than anything I can get locally for sure.

    I’m not sure how the beef batch will be. its milky but I don’t think it has the same amount of dissolved gelatin so probably won’t be as flavorful. Also made your miso tare which I will eat in the next bowl. Anyway thanks again

    Reply
  43. Very excited to try this, going to start early tomorrow morning. My only question is about the pork belly, I saw in another comment you said it was already sliced. The pieces I have are about regular bacon sized except for thickness. They’re about 10 inches long? 1.5 – 2 inches wide, and 2 inches thick. I have 3 of them. Is that about right? Or do you have a whole slab that you later cut down? Wish you had pictures!

    Reply
  44. Hello Romain
    I want to ask a few questions. When you fry the chasiu, did you slice it first then fry?
    For the soy bacon tare, what kind of bacon did you use? is it okay to use streaky bacon?
    And for sake, i use cooking sake. Will it make the taste different rather than using alcohol sake?

    Reply
    • Haha. Your questions made me google two things. Yes, the chashu is sliced, then fried. I knew that:-)

      I use streaky bacon. That’s just called bacon in Canada despite what the world thinks. Had to google streaky bacon.

      I didn’t even know cooking sake existed. Seems it has a lot of salt in it. That will change the salt balance of the tare so be careful. This one is tricky. You can’t just taste the tare for salt as it is what seasons the broth. If you use going to use cooking sake I’d add a little less tare and creep up on it. It would be a horrible shame to overseason after going through all this work.

      Or, if you can, just use regular sake and keep the bottle to cook. That’s what I do.

  45. Hello Romain!

    After trying out your excellent Indian curries, i’ll be making tonkotsu broth from your blog this week-end. My butcher gave me mostly trotters and jawbones, from happy pigs. First timer, so hopefully it’ll turn out good.
    I have a question regarding tare – I was going to braisé my chashu with sake, soy, green onion and mirin, a different method than your oven shashu. Can I simply use my strained braisé chashu liquid for tare (with additional shiro miso)?
    Keep up with the great recipes!

    Reply
    • Hello Lauren!

      So glad you like the curries.

      I don’t know what your broth will taste like in the end so it’s hard for me to say whether it will work. You may want to defat it a bit and then try concentrating it down to intensify the flavour. Remember that it gets diluted by the tonkotsu broth. Maybe try a bit of your tare in a bit of broth, see how that works and refine as needed. Better that you try it out ahead of time I think.

      Ultimately, it will be about the salt – you want the salt to be in balance in the final broth. You will need to feel your way along a bit but I’m guessing you will wind up with a great bowl of ramen.

  46. I was in Naha, Okinawa in November 2019 where friends & I discovered the ramen restaurants there. Oh man, I am hooked. Thank you for the recipes. I am cooking the broth right now and my kitchen smells just like the ramen joints I remember.

    Reply
  47. Spicy question!

    I made this. Absolutely phenomenal. I spent my birthday by myself being quarantined, so 12 hour broth was a great option. I used your bacon tare recipe, and also made the momofuku pork you provided and just wow. In your opinion since I have full trust in you, what would you do/use to make this spicy? I put spice in the tare? Would love a response from you instead of googling

    Reply
    • Happy birthday! So glad you liked everything. Would have been doubly sad if you had been disappointed.

      If I ever decide to take any of my precious tonkotsu stock and spice it up I will make this – https://glebekitchen.com/korean-ramen/

      Swap out the chicken for some leftover momofuku pork belly and I think I would be in heaven.

  48. With all the self-isolation and staying at home, I think now is the perfect time to give this a try. What’s your preferred method for heating up the broth when it’s time to serve? I figure I’ll make the broth and sous vide the chashu the day before and refrigerate, and cook the noodles and tare the day of. Chashu pork will be pan fried to brown it and warm it up, but what to do with the broth? Bring it back to a quick boil on the stove before serving?

    Reply
  49. Hi there. Awesome recipe and pictures. Do you have an e-mail where I can contact you? I have a question regarding the pictures.

    Reply
  50. I’m a little confused. Aren’t technically sake and Mirin the same thing? The bottle of mirin that I have says sweetened sake on it. Do you specifically meant the alcohol sake?

    Reply
  51. It is just me, so I am looking to make this and freeze each component. How is the pork when it is frozen and defrosted in individual servings? Can I put the broth in with the Tare and freeze (like in individual mason jars)? I am currently making the tonkotsu broth 🙂

    Reply
    • I do freeze the broth in portions so I know that works. I have never tried to freeze the pork or the tare though. I imagine the tare would be fine. If you cryovac (foodsaver) the pork would think it would be OK but I don’t know this for a fact I am afraid.

    • I use pork neck bones because that’s what they have at my Asian grocery but I expect any bones with a bit of meat on them would do. A mix of different bones isn’t a bad idea.

  52. 5 stars
    WOW! Made this last night and it was AMAZING! If we wanted to make a spicy version of this ramen bowl, how would you suggest we do that? What peppers? When and where would you add them? Thanks in advance and this recipe was absolutely amazing.

    Reply
    • Glad you liked it. I would be a little worried about overpowering the broth with spice but if I were going to do it I would add some chili sauce (or gochujang) to the tare.

    • I am assuming you mean under pressure? I really have no idea. If I had to guess I would guess probably not but I do not know. For sure it wouldn’t work in slow cooker mode.

    • I have never tried that. I really couldn’t say if it would work. Maybe freeze some leftovers and just taste it the next day?

  53. I use a topping that comes from Ivan ramen: black garlic oil. It’s super easy to do and VERY tasty (and lasts ages). I make it and put it into a squeeze bottle. I usually leave the chili paste out, honestly, so it’s just the oil. It’s really good.

    Burnt garlic oil This is an incredible condiment and is great on anything!
    1 C canola oil
    1 C sesame oil
    3 T Sambal chili paste
    100 g whole peeled garlic cloves

    Reply
  54. 5 stars
    I tried this recipe last night and it worked out great! I chose to roast the pork instead of sous vide it to save time. This recipe deserves to be shared! I hope you don’t mind if I post a photo on my Instagram, diy_bucket_list and tag you in it.

    Reply
    • I’m so glad it worked out for you. It’s a bit of an epic recipe but the results are worth it I think. Please do post on Instagram and thank you!

  55. Hey! I just had the joy of trying this recipe last week, and I wondered if I could post one of your photos, with a link to your site, on my blog? I like to recommend good recipes every week.

    Let me know if this is ok! I would not share your recipe, just direct my viewers to your page with your picture and website link. 🙂

    Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply
  56. 4 stars
    I love how you rigged the sous vide! I’ve wanted to do it but didn’t want to invest in an expensive machine. My pork belly is simmering away in its plastic bag as I write this. I’m checking the temperature of the water and hope it’s hot enough. If not, I’ll transfer to a Dutch oven. My bones are simmering away, too.

    I lived in Japan for a year and loved the ramen I had there. I searched for a good recipe and picked yours. Here’s hoping for a good result for my first attempt!

    Reply
    • I am a huge ramen fan and hunt it every time I go to Japan. I’d say this recipe will get you to near Japanese levels for the broth, pork and eggs etc. The noodles though. Really I have not found anything that comes close to fresh handmade Japanese noodles. I use the dried ones from Japan (thin). Someday I’m going to try to figure out how they do it…

  57. 5 stars
    Hello! I tried this today, and I love how straightforward and simple the instructions were. I bought a mixed bag of pork bones and boiled them for just slightly more than 12 hours. Unfortunately in the last hour, the bones seemed to have really broken down and got a bit messy in the broth. After straining I only got 4+ cups of broth… would you say it’s because there was too much meat on the bones? I did try to strain as much as I could out.
    Also, how do we know that we’ve made good broth? Thx!

    Reply
    • Glad you liked the recipe Marilyn. I would imagine winding up with 4 cups would be simply because you needed to add a bit more water as it boiled or the bones were packed in tightly so there wasn’t as much room between them for the water. In any case, winding up with 4 cups is easily fixed. Just dilute it with some water to get to 8 cups or so. To test the broth take a small ladle full, add a bit of salt and taste. If you have good depth of flavour you know you’ve made a good broth. In this case, though, I can’t imagine you didn’t. All that extra meat adds flavour.

  58. Reading your thought stream is a delight. I enjoy your banter and share much of your humor. I am preparing your tonkostu recipe as I type, yet I am doing it in a pressure cooker to remove some of the time. I know I have to replenish liquid and move things around and such, and hopefully by 6pm tonight I will have given it 14 hours worth of cooking.
    I enjoy your blog.

    Reply
    • So glad you like the blog (and my sometimes strange sense of humour:-) I never thought of cooking tonkotsu ramen broth in a pressure cooker. I’d be very interested in hearing how that goes.

    • Hi! I wasn’t thinking about trying to do a post about tsukemen – dipping noodles – but that’s a good idea. Thanks!

  59. This looks really good and well worth a try. I had some great Ramen when I worked in NYC a few years ago and some good Ramen in Manchester but other than that I stick with a quick recipe at home but I’ve always wanted to turn it up a notch and I think this could well do it. Many thanks

    Reply
    • It’s a crazy amount of work making the broth and the pork takes some doing as well but it is as good as a most ramen joints serve. Good luck!

  60. Love love love me some ramen! And I always feel like the medium boiled egg is the key ingredient. The meat is always hard for me –
    I always end up just doing chicken, but the pork in this recipe definitely kicks it up to the real deal! Thanks for making it so easy!

    Reply
  61. 5 stars
    Wow! I was intrigued by the photo and then even more impressed with the process! I’m a pretty lazy cook but this would be perfect to make for my daughter for her birthday or something, she loves ramen! Definitely pinning for September;) Thank you!

    Reply
  62. I absolutely LOVE a good bowl of ramen! Whenever we go to a “big city,”I always have to find the best ramen joint in town.:) However, I have never been brave enough to make it at home (besides you know, the packaged stuff, haha!). These instructions are wonderful! It may be a time consuming process, but for a good quality ramen at home, I’d say it is absolutely worth it. Can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
  63. 5 stars
    I’ve never agreed with a statement more. Chashu is DEFINITELY magic stuff! I can’t believe you made a ramen that looks this good and is so authentic at home. I love a good bowl of ramen, but have never dared to make it at home, for fear of messing up this perfect dish. Now, I don’t have to be scared anymore because of your awesome step-by-step instructions. I’m definitely going to try this out!

    Reply
    • It’s an epic recipe but I think it’s worth it. And it’s a starting point. You can take it a few different ways with the tare and toppings so you can make a big batch of tonkotsu and not get bored!

  64. Like you said, this looks like it would be worth all the work! I used to have so many amazing Ramen choices in New York, and I haven’t found a spot locally yet. Now I can enjoy those deep, comforting flavors at home.

    Reply
    • It is a lot of work but you can make big batches of tonkotsu broth at once and then freeze it for a quick ramen fix. Just substitute something else for the pork belly and it’s a weeknight dinner.

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