I apparently suck at reddit. This was supposed to be included with the post.
http://imgur.com/a/UWQqL[1] So with the weather cooling down I wanted to make a somewhat traditional Japanese tonkotsu broth paired with some yummy fresh ramen. Tonkotsu broth gets its flavor from using a lot of bones and breaking them down into the broth. With me being me I decided to see how far I could take it and this was the result. FYI this should be made a day in advance.
Broth
Started with 3.5 lbs of prok trotters, and a chicken carcass and 4 pealed heads of garlic. Should be enough for 3-4 bowls of ramen. Put them into a large stock pot and filled 80% up with water and set largest burner to 90% strength. When foam started forming I made sure to strain it out until there was only white foam. Any subsequent brown gunk that formed during the boiling I would strain out. After no more gunk was forming, about 2 hours, I added water and put lid on to let the soup continue to boil and do its thang, adding water as it depleted. At this point I added about 4 pealed heads of garlic to the broth. This step is crucial in making sure the water doesn't become saturated to easily and will result in a much more flavorful and robust end product. Seriously keep the water level high until the end. Towards the end, about 10-12 hours I removed all of the bones and debris from the stock and strained it though my tiny strainer. I can't tell you how tedious this step was. Get a real strainer. The broth just needs to be condensed but its pretty much done here. As the broth was condensing I added 2 dried habaneros from Terra Dolce. THESE THINGS ARE AMAZING AND SUPER SPICY. I eat A LOT of hot food and two of these was enough to make this broth crazy hot and still very enjoyable. I can't vouch for these peppers enough. Once broth is condensed salt to taste.
Pork Belly Chashu
Pretty simple. 2.2 lbs pork belly. Roll it up. Tie it up. Put it in a dutch oven. Add 1 cup mirin, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup sugar, garlic, and ginger. Mix. Put into oven with lid ajar at 275 for 4 hours. Rotate 180 degrees after 2 hours. Remove let cool then set in fridge over night to make next day slicing easier. Let it cool in its juices.
Take slice of pork and put in on LOW HEAT. You want the fat to render out so you can fry the pork gently and crisp it with out burning it. MAKE SURE TO CRISP THE SKIN IF YOU LEAVE IT ON. Trust me. you might have to pick up the belly and hold it on its side for a while but it'll be worth it.
Tofu
Extra firm. Slice and set in bowl. Add boil water saturated with salt and remove tofu after 30 seconds. Leave on a plate to dry for 30 min then wrap up in paper towels and put in fridge.
Next day fry up in peanut oil just before serving until golden brown and crispy.
Soft boiled Egg
Don't take my advice cause I fucked mine up. Straight out of fridge into boiling water for 6.5 minutes and it was over cooked. After cooling. I peeled the egg and marinated it in left over braised pork juice over night.
Noodles This is about the noodles after all. Get fresh ramen if you can. SO WORTH IT Cooking is simple. 2 min in boiling water then straight into ice bath to prevent over cooking. Strain and dry before marinating noodles in a splash of broth, home made chili oil/paste, and soy sauce as to not water down the soup. Heat up noodles gently before mixing with broth.
Serving
Heat up broth. Fry up pork and tofu Heat up noodles. Add broth to noodles. Top with halved soft boiled egg, I ate the whole thing, fried tofu, pork slice, scallions, cilantro and a bit more chili oil.
Enjoy!
Check out my insta for more food. Netoisabeast