Onomichi Ramen (尾道ラーメン)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large stockpot
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Small heavy pot
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment
• •Noodle basket or spider strainer
• •Large ramen bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the fish

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in a pot with the iriko and 4 cups cold water for at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator. Pinching out the heads and dark guts of the iriko keeps the dashi clean, because those parts turn bitter faster than the little bodies give up their sweetness.

   If you can find iriko from the Seto Inland Sea, use it. Good dried fish should smell clean and marine, not stale or oily.
2. 2

   Clean the chicken

   Put the chicken wings and backs in a large pot, cover with water, and bring just to a boil. Drain, rinse the chicken, and wash the pot. This first boil is not for flavor. It removes blood and loose proteins so the finished broth stays clear enough to carry the shōyu without tasting muddy.

3. 3

   Simmer the stock

   Return the chicken to the clean pot with 8 cups cold water, the negi greens, ginger, and pork back fat. Bring it to a gentle simmer, skim the surface, and cook quietly for 90 minutes. Keep it below a rolling boil. Hard boiling breaks fat into the stock and clouds it, and Onomichi ramen wants richness floating on top, not muddled through the broth.

   The back fat is cooking here for texture as much as flavor. It should become tender enough to chop, not disappear into the pot.
4. 4

   Braise the chāshū

   While the stock simmers, combine the shōyu, sake, mirin, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water in a small heavy pot. Bring it to a simmer, add the pork, and cook gently for 75 to 90 minutes, turning every 20 minutes. A wooden drop-lid, otoshibuta, keeps the pork in contact with the seasoning; a circle of parchment with a small hole does the same work. Gentle heat keeps the slices supple, and the braising liquid becomes the tare for the bowls.

   The tare should taste too salty to sip. That isn't a mistake. It will season a full bowl of broth and noodles.
5. 5

   Finish the dashi

   Set the soaked konbu and iriko over medium-low heat. Pull the konbu out when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides, before it boils. Simmer the iriko alone for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, add the katsuobushi, and leave it alone for 2 minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine strainer and let it drip without pressing. Boiled kelp turns slick and bitter, and squeezed bonito gives coarse, oily flavors to a stock you wanted clean.

6. 6

   Chop the fat

   Strain the chicken stock and reserve the softened back fat. Discard the bones and aromatics. Chop the back fat very fine, almost like coarse rice grains. This is the detail that decides the bowl: too large and it eats greasy, melted smooth and it loses the Onomichi character. Small grains float and season each bite in little touches.

7. 7

   Blend the broth

   Combine about 5 cups chicken stock with 3 cups fish dashi and warm it gently. Taste it plain before adding tare. It should have chicken body first, then a clean fish edge. If it tastes thin, add more fish dashi by the spoonful. If it tastes too marine, add more chicken stock. Balance now, because the noodles will not repair the broth for you.

8. 8

   Prepare the bowls

   Slice the chāshū thinly and warm the menma. Put 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons of the chāshū tare into each warmed ramen bowl. Warm bowls matter because ramen is assembled quickly and loses its edge quickly. We are not making a museum piece. We are making lunch that should arrive alive.

9. 9

   Cook the noodles

   Boil the ramen noodles in plenty of water until just firm, usually 2 to 3 minutes for fresh flat noodles. Stir once at the start so they don't cling. Drain hard, shaking off water, because extra cooking water thins the tare and dulls the broth.

10. 10

    Assemble and serve

    Ladle 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups hot blended broth into each bowl and stir to dissolve the tare. Add the noodles, lift them once with chopsticks so they settle neatly, then arrange chāshū, menma, and scallion on top. Spoon a small scatter of chopped back fat over the surface. Serve at once. Ramen is generous, but it is not patient.

Chef Tips

• •Ask a butcher for pork back fat. If that fails, trim the fat cap from pork belly and simmer it the same way. Plain lard gives shine, but it doesn't give the little floating grains that make this bowl read as Onomichi.
• •Use fresh flat chūka-men if you can. Round noodles will still feed you, but the flat ones catch the shōyu broth and back fat better, which is the quiet engineering of the style.
• •Don't make the fish dashi louder than the chicken. Onomichi ramen should carry the Seto Inland Sea as a clean edge, not announce itself as a fish soup.
• •The tare can come from the chāshū braise because nothing is wasted and the pork leaves depth behind. Taste it before using. It should be salty, lightly sweet, and soy-forward.
• •Assemble one bowl at a time. A good ramen bowl has timing in it, and the noodles soften while everyone admires your seriousness.

Advance Preparation

• •The chāshū and tare can be made up to 3 days ahead. Chill the pork in its strained braising liquid, then slice it cold so the pieces stay neat.
• •The chicken stock and fish dashi can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated separately. Combine them only when you are ready to adjust the balance.
• •The back fat can be simmered, chopped, and refrigerated for 3 days. Warm it gently in a spoonful of broth before serving.
• •Cook the noodles only at the end. Ramen noodles are at their best within minutes of boiling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 850g)