How To Ensure The Best Pork Broth For Your Tonkotsu Ramen

In the world of ramen, tonkotsu may qualify as the ultimate comfort food. When done right, tonkotsu broth is luscious and velvety, and embodies all the traits of a cream-based soup, but in the form of a rich broth cooked down from pork bones. It's not a quick recipe, but it will give meaning to the phrase "labor of love." Bone broth is enjoying its zeitgeist, but the tradition of making tonkotsu dates back to 1940s Japan. For tonkotsu, the difference in the broth is in the cooking method as well as the types of bones used. We spoke with Executive Chef James Bailey of Momofoku Las Vegas to gain some knowledge on how to ensure the best pork broth for tonkotsu ramen. "Pork bones are truly the key ingredient here," he said. "Try to source necks, trotters, knuckles, or even pig heads. Ribs will be okay, but you're not going to get the same quality and final texture without bones that have a significant amount of collagen or fat."

Because the gelatin from the pork bones is going to create the creamy, emulsified texture of your tonkotsu broth, choosing the fatty parts of the pig is essential to setting up your broth. But for the proper flavor and level of umami for the ultimate tonkotsu ramen, you'll need to choose the right aromatics and vegetables. Yellow and green onions, mushrooms, garlic cloves, and ginger are heated in vegetable oil and charred on high for caramelization.

The first step to starting your bone broth is placing your pork bones in a stockpot with cold water. Boil the bones steadily for one hour. This is going to ensure that the marrow, blood, or any bits of organ can be loosened from the bones. You'll need to drain the water and begin to pick out any of the leftover bits, and then you're ready to reintroduce the bones to the stockpot, along with the charred veggies. Here's where preparing tonkotsu broth differs from other bone broth. Rather than simmering this broth, you want to cook it at a steady, rolling boil for about 5 to 10 hours. "Your best technique – time and patience," Chef Bailey advised. "Properly extracting the flavor and gelatin from the bones is extremely important, as is emulsifying the pork fat for a truly rich and decadent soup."

Another trick to extracting the most flavor from the pork bones is to roast them in the oven first. Browning them in advance of boiling will bring out an extra layer of flavor and depth. When cooking down your bones, check the pot for a change in color and thickness. You will be able to see the release of gelatin as the hours go by. Don't cheat with a pressure cooker since you won't achieve the same results. You can use an immersion blender to thicken the gelatin as it releases in the broth before serving your tonkotsu.