How To Make Good Ramen At Home
First, Tonkotsu’s Ken Yamada explains the basics…
Broth
Like with any broth, the most important thing is the quality of the meat and bones you use. Put a kilo of chicken bones and wings in a pot with three litres of water and boil for around three hours. We add spring onions, ginger, garlic and onions, which are roasted first to enrich the broth. Be careful not to let the broth boil over. Skimming impurities is also key to keeping a clear stock and will help produce a beautiful, golden chicken broth without bitterness.
Flavourings
Tare is a very concentrated seasoning; soy sauce-based tare and salt-based tare are the two most common types. At Tonkotsu, we don’t season the broths while they are boiling, as chickens and chicken bones contain minerals and salts in varying degrees, so you can never be sure what is needed to season the broth. The best course of action is to season with tare on a batch-by-batch – or bowl-by-bowl – basis. No size fits all. You can taste your broth to see how much tare is needed for flavour.
Garlic oil also really enhances the ramen’s flavour. We first roast fresh garlic and dried garlic slices in our ovens, then fry them in rapeseed oil. It is then blitzed to a smooth, dark garlic oil using a blender. You can also use pork fat to flavour instead.
Noodles
My general rule of thumb is to use thin noodles for thick broths – like a tonkotsu broth – and thicker noodles for loose broths, like a chicken broth. But I have eaten different combinations in ramen joints across Japan, so there really are no rules.
Boiling water is key to a good noodle. When cooking noodles at home in a small pan, adding them to the boiling water will instantly lower the water’s temperature. Similarly, if the fresh noodles were kept in the fridge, you should bring them to room temperature before cooking. If the water isn’t boiling, the noodles don’t cook properly. Use the biggest pan you have with as much water as possible and make sure it is properly, vigorously boiling.
Toppings
For a classic ramen egg, pierce a small hole in the rounded side with a pin (this lets air escape to prevent cracking), then boil in already boiling water for six minutes. Cool under cold water, peel and halve before adding to the dish. For extra flavour, marinate in dashi (an umami-rich stock used in miso soup) for 24 hours in the fridge, letting the flavour fully infuse before serving.
The simplest and least wasteful way to add meat to your ramen is to prepare your chicken broth using a whole chicken. Boil the chicken until tender, then remove, cool and shred the meat for ramen toppings. Return the bones to the pot to deepen the broth’s flavour. This method adds hearty flavour to the soup while providing tender chicken as a topping.
Char siu, often made with pork shoulder or belly, is a popular ramen topping. First, roast the pork, then braise it in a soy-based marinade to infuse rich flavour. Let it chill overnight for a deeper taste, then slice thinly.
The options for vegetable toppings are wide-ranging. Finely sliced spring onions bring freshness, while seasoned bamboo shoots like menma or shinachiku add traditional flavour and crunch. Nori seaweed lends an umami kick that enhances the broth, and tofu is a great vegan addition.
Assembling
To assemble the bowl, mix the broth with the tare, pile in the noodles and finish quickly with the flavoured oil, meat, eggs and other toppings of your choice.
