Name: Tonkotsu Ramen
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 eggs; 2 Tbsp. soy sauce; 2 Tbsp. mirin; 4 Tbsp. Kombu and Katsuobushi Dashi; 3 lb. 5 oz. pork belly, skin removed; 10 g (¼ oz.) fresh ginger, unpeeled, sliced; 4 inches leek, green part only (or 2 spring onions/scallions); Generous ¾ cup soy sauce; ⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp. sake; 3 ½ Tbsp. mirin; 2 Tbsp. soft light brown sugar; 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar; 2¾ lb. pork shoulder bones; 1 large onion, peeled and cut in half; 1 carrot, unpeeled, diced; 20 g (¾ oz.) fresh ginger, unpeeled, thinly sliced; 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole; 1.2 quarts pork stock; 1 tsp. ﬁne sea salt; ¼ cup Char Siu cooking liquid; 2 tsp. light soy sauce; 4 portions dried ramen noodles, cooked following the packet instructions until al dente, then drained; 4 Nitamago Eggs, halved; 2 spring onions/scallions, thinly sliced; 1 Tbsp. toasted white sesame seeds; 2 tsp. grated garlic; 2 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in water for 10 minutes, well drained and sliced; 20 g (¾ oz.) pickled ginger; 1 sheet nori seaweed, cut into squares

Two bowls of ramen noodles in pork broth with char siu pork.

Photo by Yuki Sugiura

Ramen is a noodle dish that has taken the world by storm. Tonkotsu ramen comes from Kyushu, my region, and the ﬁrst thing I do when I go back home is have a big bowl of it. This recipe is time-consuming but worth the effort. You can make both the stock and the marinade a day in advance and keep them refrigerated.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Atsuko's Japanese Kitchen' by Atsuko Ikeda. Buy the full book on Amazon. Get more of our favorite Japanese soup recipes →