Kumamoto Ramen (熊本ラーメン)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy stockpot, 8 liters or larger
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Small saucepan for tare
• •Small pan for mayu
• •Ramen bowls, or deep warmed soup bowls
• •Noodle basket or spider strainer

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the bones

   Put the pork bones and chicken 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 any dark blood or gray scum. This first boil is not broth. It is washing by heat, and it keeps the final soup clean enough for the garlic to sit on top instead of fighting dirt underneath.

   Split bones give a better broth because the marrow and collagen meet the water directly. If your butcher will split them, ask.
2. 2

   Boil the broth

   Return the cleaned bones and chicken to the pot with 4.5 liters fresh water. Bring to a strong boil, then keep it lively, not quiet, for 4 hours, adding hot water as needed to keep the bones mostly covered. A clear soup wants restraint, but tonkotsu wants movement. The rolling boil breaks fat and collagen into the liquid, turning it pale and milky.

3. 3

   Add aromatics

   Add the onion, scallion whites, ginger, and 6 garlic cloves. Boil 1 1/2 to 2 hours more, until the broth is opaque, rounded, and lightly sticky on your lips. Add the aromatics late so they sweeten the broth without cooking into a dull vegetable heaviness.

4. 4

   Strain and season

   Strain the broth through a fine sieve, pressing lightly on the solids but not grinding them through. You want body, not grit. Keep the broth hot, and taste it before the tare goes in. It should taste porky and mild, a little under-seasoned, because the tare and mayu will finish the bowl.

5. 5

   Make the tare

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth and put it in a small pan with the soy sauce, sake, mirin, salt, sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Warm slowly and pull the konbu out just before the liquid boils, when small bubbles gather at the edge. Boiling konbu can turn the tare bitter and slick, and this seasoning has to be sharp enough to guide the heavy broth. Simmer the tare 3 minutes, then take it off the heat.

6. 6

   Cook the mayu

   Put the neutral oil and sliced garlic in a small pan over low heat. Cook slowly, stirring often, until the garlic passes golden and becomes dark chestnut, 12 to 18 minutes. Take the pan off the heat the moment it smells smoky and nutty, not acrid. The garlic keeps darkening in the hot oil, so courage must arrive a little before disaster. Strain, then stir in the sesame oil.

7. 7

   Warm the bowls

   Warm the serving bowls with hot water, then empty them. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons tare and 1 teaspoon mayu to each bowl. Warming the bowl is small work, but ramen cools quickly, and a cold bowl steals heat before the noodles have even sat down.

8. 8

   Cook the noodles

   Boil the medium-thick ramen noodles in plenty of water according to the maker's timing, usually 2 to 3 minutes. Stir as they enter the pot so they separate cleanly. Kumamoto noodles should keep a little bite, because they meet a richer broth than thin Hakata noodles and need enough body to stand in it.

9. 9

   Build the bowls

   Ladle about 1 1/2 cups hot broth into each bowl and whisk lightly with the tare and mayu. Drain the noodles hard, then lay them into the broth and lift once with chopsticks to settle them. Top each bowl with chāshū, kikurage, menma, egg halves, scallion greens, sesame, nori, and a final small spoon of mayu. Serve at once. Ramen forgives many things, but not waiting.

Chef Tips

• •Buy bones that look clean and smell faintly sweet, never sour. Sourcing first, always. No amount of garlic oil will rescue a tired bone broth.
• •Mayu is the line between Kumamoto ramen and a plain tonkotsu bowl. Keep the heat low, watch the color, and remove the garlic at dark chestnut. Black is the style; bitter is a mistake.
• •Use fresh medium-thick ramen noodles if you can. Thin Hakata-style noodles are good in their own house, but Kumamoto asks for a little more chew.
• •For a sensible weeknight bowl, make the broth and tare ahead. Then dinner is noodles, reheating, and assembly, not six hours of pretending time has become shorter because we want it to.

Advance Preparation

• •The broth can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated. It will set softly from collagen; warm it gently, then bring it back to a lively simmer before serving.
• •The tare keeps 1 week refrigerated.
• •The mayu keeps 1 week refrigerated in a covered jar. Bring it to room temperature and stir before using.
• •Prepare chāshū and ramen eggs a day ahead if you want the final meal to move cleanly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 850g)