Ramen Recipes

[Sencha]

I've never done a ramen broth with pork only, but rather mainly pork with a bit of chicken. I imagine a broth made with just pork bones would be relatively easy to do and be rather similar.

You just need to be able to get some nice marrow filled bones. Different people have different preferences on which type of bone they prefer.

A preliminary step to making the broth is as AzianBrewer mentioned, boiling the bones briefly (2-3 min.) and draining them to remove scum. Then you can go on with the recipe.

Typical ingredients I add to the pot are onion, negi, ginger, and konbu, but some others are quite likely to work as well.

Just cut them into chunks and add to the pot.

I've found pork based stocks to take a bit of time though, so this is something you might want to do when you've got enough time. I think the least amount of time I'd think of cooking it is 6 hours. I usually go for 7-8 hours though, keeping the heat at medium or medium-high or so.

It's really an easy process; just time consuming. Just peek in at the stock every once in a while to see if you need to add a bit more water. At the end, just add a little salt and strain the stock. You'll be rewarded with a delicious white, opaque broth.

When it's chilled in the fridge it should be really gelatinous, and then you'll know you have a good stock. If by chance you find that when it's chilled it isn't very gelatinous you can put it back into the pot and cook it until it's reduced a bit, concentrating it.

Making broth from scratch is great, but I'd still like to be able to make the noodles from scratch.

[_john]

Making broth from scratch is great, but I'd still like to be able to make the noodles from scratch.

←

I would like to know how to do this as well. I have tried several times and had results varying from inedible to good but wrong texture.

As for my recipe, I don't really have one per se. Like others have said the most important ingredient is time. The longer you extract flavor and gelatine from the bones the better. I do not add onion or negi to mine because they contain a fair amount of sweetness that can become too pronounced when it is reduced. I also skip the initial blanching of the bones. What does that step do exactly?

[Hiroyuki]

I also skip the initial blanching of the bones. What does that step do exactly?

←

Good question! The purpose of the initial boiling is to get rid of the odor of the bones.

Did you check out this thread?

Two techniques essential to tonkotsu soup making are 'double boiling' and 'rolling boil'.

[AzianBrewer]

I also skip the initial blanching of the bones. What does that step do exactly?

←

Good question! The purpose of the initial boiling is to get rid of the odor of the bones.

Did you check out this thread?

Two techniques essential to tonkotsu soup making are 'double boiling' and 'rolling boil'.

←

And cleanse out the protein from the blood.

[_john]

Good question!  The purpose of the initial boiling is to get rid of the odor of the bones.

Did you check out this thread?

Two techniques essential to tonkotsu soup making are 'double boiling' and 'rolling boil'.

←

I checked out the thread and it says "The reason for this extra first boil step is to remove the 'cloudiness' in the soup, which is caused by impurity and blood." I know that this sort of blanching is common in stocks where clarity is important.

I wonder if any ramen-ya have cooking classes? Or do they want to protect their trade secrets?

I would love to apprentice at a ramen-ya but I don't think this type of work is available to a foreigner.

Edited January 12, 2006 by _john (log)

[helenjp]

It depends what you mean by "apprentice". If you just want to hang around and observe, then there's plenty of work at lowly places - my husband worked at one when he was a student, and my own students have similar jobs these days.

However, because speed is essential and workplaces cramped, they'd expect you to speak reasonable Japanese.

[Hiroyuki]

I submitted this recipe on RecipeGullet:

http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1560.html

and two others.

The problem is, I have not tried any one of them, and I have no intention of trying it, either. Anyone up for the challenge?

[Hiroyuki]

Good question!  The purpose of the initial boiling is to get rid of the odor of the bones.

Did you check out this thread?

Two techniques essential to tonkotsu soup making are 'double boiling' and 'rolling boil'.

←

I checked out the thread and it says "The reason for this extra first boil step is to remove the 'cloudiness' in the soup, which is caused by impurity and blood." I know that this sort of blanching is common in stocks where clarity is important.

I wonder if any ramen-ya have cooking classes? Or do they want to protect their trade secrets?

I would love to apprentice at a ramen-ya but I don't think this type of work is available to a foreigner.

←

Sorry, hzrt8w didn't explicitly say so. But it is true that the initial blanching and the subsequent removal of blood and the like are required to get rid of the odor. And it's also true that Japanese leeks (negi), ginger, garlic, and so on are used to deodorize the bones.

As for cooking classes, I did a quick google search and found one ramen-ya owner. Besides a ramen-ya, he also runs other businesses, and seems like an interesting man.

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~fujisige/

(Japanese only)

He once offered classes only for those who wanted to open a ramen-ya, but now also offers classes for those interested in ramen making. The tuition ranges from 100,000 to 500,000 yen(!) depending on which classes you are taking.

He says he started to study English when he turned 60.

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~fujisige/eigo.html

So..., why don't you give him English lessons and take his ramen classes for free?!

To email him, just click on メール at the bottom of the first website I provided a link to.

Good luck!

[Nathan P.]

I really hope someone gets motivated enough to tackle what I consider to be a daunting task. I have at least been motivated enough to go out and buy a bowl of ramen with tonkotsu broth today

It was amazing. As rich as a slightly thinned jus in the style that is so popular in bistro style restaurants these days with strong and deep pork flavor and little bits of soft pork fat floating suspended in this viscous porky brew. I won't even speculate on how they make roast pork that does not dry out at all...

[dockhl]

I submitted this recipe on RecipeGullet:

http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1560.html

and two others.

The problem is, I have not tried any one of them, and I have no intention of trying it, either.  Anyone up for the challenge?

←

I am surprised that you would vouch for recipes that you had not personally prepared. Why would you post these?

[Hiroyuki]

I submitted this recipe on RecipeGullet:

http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1560.html

and two others.

The problem is, I have not tried any one of them, and I have no intention of trying it, either.  Anyone up for the challenge?

←

I am surprised that you would vouch for recipes that you had not personally prepared. Why would you post these?

←

I read the RecipeGullet copyright and use policy, and I thought it would be OK to post them there. Am I wrong? If so, I will have them deleted.

[dockhl]

I wasn't thinking so much of copyright problems but.......how do you know they are good?

[Hiroyuki]

I wasn't thinking so much of copyright problems but.......how do you know they are good?

←

Kind of hard to answer. I did an extensive search and found those recipes. Two of them are by ramen geeks, and one by an interesting man who likes to make all sorts of foodstuff by himself. I simply assumed their recipes to be good.

Well, to tell you the truth, the biggest reason why I posted the recipes on RecipeGullet, not here, is that I didn't want to do all the conversion from the metric to US units!

Besides, once I submitted them there, I can always update them to reflect any developments in the future. No?

[alvis]

Hello fellow ramen aficionado,

I finally tried making ramen from SCRATCH this week. A friend of mine got me a couple of ramen cookbooks( Jibun-de-Tsukuru-Puro-no-Ramen 1 & 2) from a bookstore in Tokyo few months ago. I started with the broth yesterday with a tonkotsu style broth but I substituted pork bones with beef bones instead. After 5hrs of boiling resulted in.

Today I made fresh ramen noodles based on the recipe in the ramen cookbook.

Here's a pic of freshly cut noodles

Pic of cooked noodles

Finally, Soup meets Noodles:

Overall, I think I did a good job for my first try. The slippery noodle had a nice chew to it and the broth was both rich and flavorful. Will have to make some more soon.

Edited April 6, 2006 by alvis (log)

[_john]

Wow alvis, that looks really great. I might just order that cookbook. I would be interested to see their recipes. Now that I live in Japan I have less need to make ramen at home but once I get a pressure cooker I would like to try making it again. My local supermarket has pork back bones for very cheap, I could fill a whole pot for 500yen.

Can you tell us more about the noodles? I have had problems making them before and yours look very authentic.

Also, did you blanch the bones? And did you use a rapid boil or a very long slow cooking?

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks for sharing your experience, alvis. You did a great job.

I know I have to try one of those recipes I previously submitted to RecipeGullet. I'm thinking of making the broth in the garage...

[alvis]

Wow alvis, that looks really great. I might just order that cookbook. I would be interested to see their recipes. Now that I live in Japan I have less need to make ramen at home but once I get a pressure cooker I would like to try making it again. My local supermarket has pork back bones for very cheap, I could fill a whole pot for 500yen.

Can you tell us more about the noodles? I have had problems making them before and yours look very authentic.

Also, did you blanch the bones? And did you use a rapid boil or a very long slow cooking?

←

Thanks for the compliment from you and Hiroyuki. For the noodles, I followed the recipe given in the 1st book. It called for flour(I used all purpose bleached flour), salt, kansui,egg yolks, and water. Basically, I mixed the flour with the rest of the ingredients(mixed) and kneaded it for 20 minutes and formed it into a ball. After resting it for an hour, I used a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a thin layer (1.5mm?). You will need to apply cornstarch to the surface of the dough when rolling. To cut it, I folded it into 5 inch folds and cut it using a very thin and sharp knife in my case a sashimi knife. For my next try, I will use more egg yolks and less water. As you can see in the pic, my noodles didn't look yellow at all. I will also need to knead it longer. What kind of problems did you run into when you tried making the noodles?

For the broth. I blanched it first to remove the scum and then added it back into boiling water and boiled "the heck out of it" for 5hrs. Hope this helps.

Hiroyuki: I have a question. Are there ramen shops in Japan that specialize in using beef instead of pork?

[Hiroyuki]

Hiroyuki: I have a question. Are there ramen shops in Japan that specialize in using beef instead of pork?

←

Not that I know of. I got about 684 results by googling "牛肉ラーメン" (beef-ramen), but most of them refer to beef ramen in China and Taiwan. I found some ramen shops that serve beef ramen, but I failed to find a single shop that specializes in beef ramen. We do like beef, but somehow the combination of beef and ramen doesn't sound very appetizing.

[Grub]

Excellent post, alvis.

Have always wanted to try make some after watching Tampopo.

[Hiroyuki]

Excellent post, alvis.

Have always wanted to try make some after watching Tampopo.

←

Tampopo... It's here on eGullet that I learned that the movie was that popular overseas.

I haven't seen the movie myself, but I once read on one site that there was a scene where a sensei (master) told someone a proper way of eating ramen. I can assure you that there can be no proper way of eating ramen other than this:

Eat it quickly and slurp it up!

[_john]

I can assure you that there can be no proper way of eating ramen other than this:

Eat it quickly and slurp it up!

←

I am amazed at the ability of people to slurp up very hot noodles. I can't do it, I have to blow on the noodles and even then I burn my tongue.

I have never seen beef ramen, but many shops have similar "gimmicks" to sell ramen. That is my favorite thing about ramen, the variety and creativity of ramen shops.

The problem I had with the noodles was that they would being to stick after I cut them, even though I used quite a bit of extra flour. The texture was also not as firm as I am used to, and I didn’t have kansui. I also had the same problem with my noodles being not yellow enough.

Hiroyuki: You should really see tampopo, It is one of my favorite movies. I studied film production at college, while working as a chef, and studying Japanese so you can understand why I was very interested in it.

[torakris]

I have never seen beef ramen, but many shops have similar "gimmicks" to sell ramen. That is my favorite thing about ramen, the variety and creativity of ramen shops.

←

like this? coffee ramen!

The soup is made with coffee and so are the noodles....

The shop also serves it up with a container of milk so you can make cafe au lait ramen.

Scroll down to see various pictures and if you read Jaanese you are in for a treat as this guy is pretty funny.

[Sencha]

Amusing link!

I'm still trying to grasp the idea of coffee ramen. It's not sinking in yet!

I guess I'd be willing to try it (if someone else were to buy it , that is) just to see what it's like, but I think I'd rather stick with more standard styles of ramen.

[Hiroyuki]

I found coffee ramen totally abhorrent at first, but a webpage has changed my view. The webpage that Kristin provided a link to provides a link to that webpage, which is a serious report on coffee ramen.

According to the webpage, coffee ramen is available in the wintertime only. Coffee mori soba, coffee hiyashi chuuka (cold Chinese noodles), and coffee salad men (noodles) are available in the summertime.

Surprisingly, coffee ramen is a trademark and is also process patented, so you can see that the shop owner is serious.

The reporter seems to have given up finishing coffee ramen because of its bizarre taste.

You can see a photo of packs of dried coffee ramen at the bottom of the webpage. The shop owner says that the ramen is good to eat if you boil it in a normal way and dip it in store-bought men-tsuyu just like soba.

I don't want to have coffee ramen unless it is offered for free, but I'm interested in dried coffee ramen. I like cha-soba (buckwheat noodles containing green tea powder), so I think coffee ramen may be as good.

John: I want to see that movie, but I wonder if a video rental shop carries it...

[Grub]

Tampopo...  I haven't seen the movie myself, but I once read on one site that there was a scene where a sensei (master) told someone a proper way of eating ramen.  I can assure you that there can be no proper way of eating ramen other than this:

Eat it quickly and slurp it up!

←

Ah, yes -- that's exactly where my quote comes from: "Eye the pork lovingly, as if to say 'see you soon!'" That scene isn't actually part of the movie proper, but comes from a book that the sidekick reads to the main character as they ride along in their truck. In the book, a young apprentice is shown how to properly enjoy it, by a stereotypical master with -- what's the Zen expression, "too much tea"? Heheh.