Recipe: Homemade Tonkotsu Broth for Ramen

Please note that I don't claim that this recipe is authentic in any way. I'm just writing to share what I have been doing that has passed my family's tastebuds. After all, sharing is caring. :)

I have been a self proclaimed ramen girl myself and these are my all time favourite top three ramen houses in Cebu in no particular order. Click on the links for more info.

1. Barikata Ramen Bar- They serve only three kinds of ramen* . Simple toppings but unforgettable taste. My experience here was love at first sip. *Note: This was 2016 post. Edited in 2018. Barikata now serves more than three ramen.
2. Yushoken Ramen - Super Yummy. They make their own noodles and gyoza wrapper which are lip smacking amazing. 
3. Sachi Authentic Japanese Ramen- Their Nokou Kotteri is the best ramen in their ramen menu, and the only ramen resto among the three that automatically includes ajitsuki tamago in every order.

All three of them has their signature tasty tonkotsu broth...and yes, all their signature ramen dishes starts at P300- up per bowl. Quite expensive alright but as soon as I learned to make this kind of rich, pale cream coloured, intensely flavoured, (yeah, over "adjectivized" 😂 noun here :) tonkotsu broth that leaves a sticky feeling on your lips, I realised that the ingredients, method, time and effort that the chef has put into this process was well worth it. You get what you pay for and you gotta respect the chef too. Unless you want to settle for a P15 instant ramen...or a P200 ramen that thats actually worth less than its amount just because it is named "japanese" in the menu, it's your call.

A P300.00 per bowl is already a luxury splurge for me that's why it's always a rare and occasional treat to have one. This brought me to decide why not make one at home. Well actually I made a few attempts but it turned out to be plain nilagang baboy broth. Tasty though but no cloudy color and no sticky texture that I was looking for. I always get frustrated if I don't get to eat what I want and i'm no expert so I was up for a challenge to learn this.

The final broth with ramen noodles.

My finished product.

• GOAL: To get that rich, pale cream coloured, intensely flavoured, tonkotsu broth that leaves a sticky feeling on your lips. (I reiterate 😫)

• RESEARCH: I searched, googled and read several articles about the broth and watched videos and demos on YouTube. I learned a few tricks from well seasoned cooks and other experienced food bloggers their techniques and scientific explanations.

• PLAN: I bought the ingredients which was mostly 
• pork trotters, (trimmed pork feet)
• pork leg bones (pork pata without the meat. You can ask the butcher to debone them) and 
• chicken bones (I used whole bisaya or native chicken, deboned and made Chicken Halang Halang with the meat). 
• The pork trotters have more cartilage around the bones so this is ideal for giving the broth its sticky feel. The pork leg bones has marrow for that added porky flavour. The chicken bones adds and compliments its flavour to the soup as well. 
• Pork fat can also be added for that additional rich full bodied taste to the broth. I used the skin with a bit of fat from the pork ham cut. This cut ill make it into Chasyu later on for the ramen topping. The flavourings for this broth are simply sweated garlic, ginger and onions plus the remaining reduction of the Chasyu that I will also be making. Recipe links are also provided below. Other tongkotsu recipe calls for additional fish bones too but I skipped this one fearing that I might use the wrong fish and give a fishy aftertaste with the soup. Sounds simple doesn't it? Wait till we go to the next process.

• EXECUTE: Like I said, I'm no professional chef but I have been home cooking since I was in college back in 1988. I have learned a lot from my family who also loves to cook as well as learned "survival cooking"-that's cooking on what's available on the pantry and left overs, along the way.  Curiosity and the "scientist" in me helped me understand the rationale behind technique they were using so I decided to tweak this version a bit since the original recipe calls for 8 to 12 hours of slow simmer which I don't have the luxury of time. So I cut it down to 2 hours minimum. Though I didn't get that white, creamy, milkiness that I wanted, I understood that you can only achieve this with the slow, long simmering to emulsify the fats with the broth. The blanching and cleaning of the bones in the beginning also contributes to its creamy color so I didn't skip this one. One hour wasn't good enough at start. It left the broth clear with some of the bits of cartilage floating on the broth. The 2 hours did gave me a cloudy pale color that I wanted but it was beige instead of white. The soup tasted yummy though with that rich and sticky texture also present. The two-hour slow simmer dissolved everything leaving you with all of the above goodness with the bones and bits of meat at the bottom.

• DELIVER: So here it goes. This recipe takes about thirty to forty five minutes to prepare and cooks about two hours plus 30 mins post preparation. Patience is a virtue with this recipe. :) 

• This batch makes about 10 cups or 2 litres of broth. You can pack and freeze the rest for future ramens. Keeps for a week up to a month in the freezer.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo pork trotters (pork feet without the actual feet)
• Bones of one pork leg (pork pata. not in photo. I forgot to take one)
• Bones of one chicken (or bones of three to four chicken breast. Do not include the meat)
• 12 cups water + - (water should be an inch above the bones when filled. Reduces after 2 hours)

• 1 medium onion sliced thick
• 1 whole bulb garlic, smashed
• 1 ginger sliced (about a 2x2" size)
• 3 large stalks green onions, sliced (white part only, reserve the green for toppings. Not in photo again)
• Pork fat and skin of 250 grams of pork ham cut (keep the meat part for Chasyu)
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• Reduction from the Chasyu (optional)

Procedure:

1. Wash the pork trotters, pork bones and chicken bones well. Place in a pressure cooker pot and fill with water until the bones are covered. Boil for about 20 minutes and drain. 
2. Discard the water and wash the bones again under running water. Remove any remaining scum that sticks to the skin and bones as well as the brown bits of the cooked blood. This will make the the broth turn brown and we don't want that.
3. 
4. Clean the pot and place the blanched and cleaned bones back. Cover with water and let it boil again. Turn off and repeat process number 2.
5. Finally repeat process 3 without turning the heat off. While simmering, remove any remaining scum that floats. Continue to simmer while preparing the aromatics.
6. Toast the onion, garlic, ginger and green onions until golden brown but not burnt. (or it will make the broth bitter).
7. 
8. Add the aromatics to the simmering broth together with the pork fat and skin. Cover the pressure cooker pot and set it to boil. Once pressure is on, lower the heat to its lowest and simmer for about two hours. Watch the liquid doesn't evaporate before the 2 hour timer. This is why you should slow simmer in the lowest possible heat setting. Not to worry, you may add more water if it does.
9. After 2 hours. depressurise the cooker according to its manufacturers instructions. Remove and discard the bones and remaining ginger. The onions and garlic should be dissolved by now.There should be no cartilage left sticking to the bones.
10. With another clean stock pot, transfer the broth though a fine sieve a little at a time. Optionally, you can use a pestle to force the remaining bits to soft cartilage through it. (You can keep the ones that didn't pass though for pet treats which I did. My little dachshund gobbled it up in less than a minute.)      
11.  
12. Season with salt, pepper, and the Chasyu reduction.
13. You can use a hand held blender to emulsify the broth again. This time, it will become pale, creamy and cloudy.  
14. 

• CLOSING: I sound like a project manager with this post. Hee hee har har. Blanch some fresh ramen noodles and arrange them in a bowl. Top with slices of Chasyu, Ajitsuki Tamago, bamboo shoots, green onions and ground sesame seeds. Ladle the piping hot tonkotsu broth over the broth. 

I forgot to top the green onions before the photo op. Wah. But it tastes really good.

Happy Eats!

Recipe Links:

Chasyu Recipe (A sliced pork boiled or baked in aromatic marinade.)

Ajitsuki Tamago (Hard boiled brown eggs with soft runny yolks in the centre.)