Stir In Bacon Grease For A Flavor-Packed Ramen Experience

Many ramen enthusiasts often overlook the potential for personalization that lies within those simple noodle packets. Even if you spring for the fancy ramen packs with freeze-dried protein and vegetables, instant ramen is invariably less exciting than the bowls served at restaurants that have a complex, cloudy broth and a delectable array of toppings. Of course, you can add extra ingredients like jammy eggs and vegetables, sprinkle on furikake, or add a slice of cheese, but one of the easiest ways to amp up the flavor of your instant noodles needs hardly any planning at all. You can add smoky pork belly flavor to your bowl by simply stirring in a spoonful of rich, flavorful bacon grease.

Think of bacon grease as one more flavorful oil available at your fingertips, and one that won't even cost you any extra money to have on hand. The rendered fat contains salty, umami-packed flavors that will turn the basic powdered broth packet in your noodles into an aromatic upgraded experience with just one stir.

Rich tonkotsu ramen is served with a tasty broth made from boiling pork bones and served with braised pork belly slices. The fat in the marrow and gelatin from the bones emulsifies into the liquid, giving the broth its signature silky mouthfeel, and that's enhanced by adding liquid from cooking the pork belly. Although you may not have hours to prepare such a recipe, you can take a shortcut by adding bacon grease to an instant noodle pack preparation.

The easiest way to incorporate bacon grease is to simply stir it into your bowl of noodles after they've finished cooking. You'll get a lovely aroma from the steaming bowl along with the smoky pork flavor. To add another layer of pork flavor, you can add a spoonful of bacon grease to the broth base and allow it to boil rapidly, simulating the way tonkotsu broth is emulsified. Your ramen broth will be thicker and opaque, and the flavors will soak into the cooking noodles as well. Of course, you can try both methods for a double hit of flavor. Don't overlook this flavorful oil when you want a fast ramen upgrade.