Iekei Ramen (家系ラーメン)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy stockpot, 8 liters or larger
• •Sturdy fine-mesh strainer
• •Small saucepan for tare
• •Ramen bowls, warmed before serving
• •Noodle basket (tebo), or a large sieve

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the bones

   Put the pork bones and chicken backs in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a hard boil for 10 minutes. Drain, then rinse the bones under running water, rubbing away dark blood and loose bits. This first boil is not flavor making. It clears the broth of harsh smells and scum so the long cooking can build richness without muddiness.

2. 2

   Start the broth

   Return the cleaned bones to the pot with 4.5 liters cold water. Bring to a boil, then keep it at a lively simmer, not a shy one, for 5 to 6 hours. Stir now and then and scrape the bottom so the bones give up collagen and fat into the liquid. For this style you want a cloudy, full broth, so movement is useful. Quiet heat makes a clear stock. Iekei asks for strength.

   Add hot water as needed to keep the bones barely covered. Cold water drops the cooking too sharply and slows the extraction.
3. 3

   Add aromatics

   During the final hour, add the onion, ginger, and scallion pieces. They go in late because their aroma is fresher that way. Cook them for six hours and they turn tired and sweet in the wrong direction. Strain the broth through a sturdy sieve, pressing lightly on the bones and vegetables, then keep the broth hot. You should have about 2 liters.

4. 4

   Make the tare

   While the broth cooks, combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, konbu, and garlic in a small pan. Warm slowly until the surface just begins to tremble, then remove the konbu before the liquid boils. Boiled konbu can turn bitter and slick, and tare is too concentrated to hide that mistake. Simmer the liquid for 2 minutes to soften the alcohol, take it off the heat, add the katsuobushi, and let it steep for 3 minutes. Strain without squeezing, then season with the sea salt. This is your shōyu tare.

5. 5

   Prepare toppings

   Blanch the spinach in salted boiling water for 30 seconds, then chill it in cold water and squeeze gently. Cut it into short bundles. The cold rinse fixes the green color and stops the leaves from going limp. Halve the eggs, slice the scallion, and keep the nori dry until the bowl is ready, because damp nori loses its clean snap before it reaches the table.

6. 6

   Season each bowl

   Warm four ramen bowls. Put 1 1/2 tablespoons tare and 1 tablespoon chicken oil in each bowl, then add about 450ml hot broth and stir. Taste one spoonful before the noodles go in. It should taste slightly stronger than soup, because noodles and spinach will soften it. Add more tare by the teaspoon if it tastes thin. This is the proper place to tune the salt.

7. 7

   Cook the noodles

   Boil the thick ramen noodles in plenty of unsalted water until firm, usually 2 to 3 minutes for fresh noodles. Stir them well at the start so the strands separate. Drain hard, shaking off extra water, because water clinging to the noodles dilutes the broth you just balanced.

8. 8

   Build the bowl

   Slide the noodles into the seasoned broth and lift them once with chopsticks so they settle neatly. Set spinach in one small bundle, place two nori sheets upright against the side, add one halved egg, and scatter a little scallion. Serve at once. Ramen waits for no one, which is not a moral teaching, only physics.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for pork neck bones, back bones, or leg bones cut small enough for the pot. The cut surfaces matter because exposed bone and cartilage give the broth body. Whole, polite bones sit there like philosophers and contribute less.
• •Use thick fresh ramen noodles if you can find them. Iekei is built for a firm, substantial noodle that can stand in the rich broth. Thin noodles soften too quickly and make the bowl feel like the wrong conversation.
• •Chicken oil is not decoration. It carries aroma to the surface and gives Iekei its rounded finish. If you render chicken skin gently yourself, strain it clean and keep it refrigerated.
• •Do not season the broth pot. Keep broth, tare, and oil separate, then season each bowl. That is how you get the Iekei choice of strong or light, oily or restrained, without ruining the whole batch.
• •Nori belongs dry and upright at the edge of the bowl. Dip it as you eat, wrap it around noodles or rice if you like, and let it catch the broth instead of surrendering too early.

Advance Preparation

• •The broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. It will set softly from the collagen. Reheat it gently, then bring it back to a lively simmer before serving.
• •The shōyu tare keeps 2 weeks refrigerated. Taste before using, as it grows rounder after a day.
• •Chicken oil keeps 1 week refrigerated. Warm it just until fluid before adding it to the bowls.
• •Spinach can be blanched a few hours ahead, squeezed, cut, and held chilled. Nori should be opened at the last moment so it stays dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 850g)