三本松

Cold nights in Sanbonmatsu, only bearable by the glow of the kerosene heater, the electric gas smell idle. Nights made colder by the icy salt air - the ocean never rests, would be made warm again by a bowl of steaming ramen. 

A nourishing broth painstakingly simmered for hours - enriched by pork bones and konbu.  Mouthfuls of broth, then noodle and egg, pork belly and ginger.  Repeat and repeat again.

tonkatsu ramen | serves 6-8
slightly adapted from Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Food Lab

active time: 2 hours | total cooking time: 12-18 hours

3 pounds pork hocks, cut crosswise into disks (ask your butcher to do this for you)
2 pounds chicken backs and carcasses, skin and excess fat removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, skin on, roughly chopped
12 garlic cloves
One 3-inch knob ginger, roughly chopped
2 dozen scallions, white parts only (reserve greens and light green parts for garnishing finished soup)
6 ounces whole mushrooms or mushroom scraps

serve with:
cooked ramen noodles
soft boiled egg
green scallion ends
pickled ginger
sweet corn
seaweed

Place pork and chicken bones in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Place on a burner over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as boil is reached.

While pot is heating, heat vegetable oil in a medium cast iron or non-stick skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook, tossing occasionally until deeply browned on most sides, about 15 minutes total. Set aside.

Once pot has come to a boil, dump water down the drain. Carefully wash all bones under cold running water, removing any bits of dark marrow or coagulated blood. Bones should be uniform grey/white after you've scrubbed them. Use a chopstick to help remove small bits of dark marrow from inside the hocks or near the chicken's spines.

Return bones to pot along with charred vegetables, scallion whites, and mushrooms. Fill pot with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that appears (this should stop appearing within the first 20 minutes or so). Reduce heat to a bare simmer and place a heavy lid on top.

Once the lid is on, check the pot after 15 minutes. It should be at a slow rolling boil. If not, increase or decrease heat slightly to adjust boiling speed. Boil broth about 4 hours. Return lid to pot and continue cooking until broth is opaque with the texture of light cream, about 6 to 8 hours longer, topping off as necessary to keep bones submerged at all times.

Once broth is ready, cook over high heat until reduced to around 3 quarts. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot. Discard solids. For an even cleaner soup, strain again through a fine mesh strainer lined with several layers of cheese cloth. Skim liquid fat from top with a ladle and discard.

 
To serve, season broth with condiments of your choice (salt, soy sauce, miso, sesame paste, grated fresh garlic, chili oil or a mixture of all, for instance) and serve with cooked ramen noodles and toppings as desired.