Tonkotsu Ramen

Place all the bones in your largest stockpot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat and let it rip for 10 minutes. Drain everything, rinse each bone under running water scrubbing off any dark bits, coagulated blood, or scum. Scrub the pot clean too.

Return clean bones to the clean pot. Cover with fresh cold water (about 4 litres). Bring to a hard rolling boil, then keep it at a vigorous boil — constant aggressive bubbling, not a gentle simmer. Keep the lid slightly ajar. Top up with boiling water from a kettle every hour to keep bones submerged. Never add cold water.

At the 6-hour mark, add the halved onion, sliced ginger, and halved garlic head. At 8–10 hours the broth should be opaque and creamy white. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids. Discard bones. Let cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Roll the pork belly tightly into a cylinder, skin side out, and tie with kitchen twine at 2cm intervals. Sear in a hot pot with a thin layer of neutral oil on all sides until deeply browned, about 8 minutes total.

Remove the belly, turn heat down. Add sake first and let it bubble for 30 seconds, then add the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, water, ginger slices, and spring onion whites. Stir to dissolve sugar. Return pork to the pot. Cover with lid slightly ajar and braise on the lowest heat for 2.5–4 hours, turning every 30 minutes. Done when a chopstick slides through with no resistance. Save the braising liquid. Cool and refrigerate both separately.

Combine soy sauce, mirin, and sake in a small saucepan. Drop in the kombu. Bring to a bare simmer over low heat, then immediately remove from heat. Let kombu steep for 20 minutes, then remove it. Once the chashu is done, add 3–4 tablespoons of the braising liquid to the tare. Store in a jar in the fridge.

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Gently lower cold eggs in with a spoon. Boil for exactly 6 minutes 30 seconds. Transfer immediately to an ice bath for 5 minutes. Peel carefully. Submerge peeled eggs in a mix of soy sauce, mirin, and water (a zip-lock bag works well). Refrigerate overnight.

Add minced garlic to sesame oil in a small saucepan over the lowest heat. Cook slowly, stirring regularly, for 15–20 minutes until garlic is very dark brown. Let cool, then blend or mash with a fork. Store in a jar.

Drain and rinse canned bamboo shoots. Slice into thin matchstick-sized strips. Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes to remove tinny flavour, then drain well. Return to pot with soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and chilli flakes. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. Cool in the liquid and refrigerate.

Stir most of the fat cap back into the broth (skim a little if you want a lighter bowl). Reheat over medium-high, whisking occasionally to re-emulsify. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Season with salt — start with 1 teaspoon and work up. Keep it slightly under-seasoned as the tare adds salt too.

Remove twine from chashu. Slice into 8mm rounds. Optionally sear slices in a cast iron pan with a thin layer of oil, 30 seconds per side, for a caramelised edge. Halve marinated eggs lengthwise. Slice spring onions. Drain menma. Have nori and mayu ready.

Fill serving bowls with hot tap water to warm them. Bring a separate large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Cook noodles according to packet directions. Drain well and shake off excess water.

Dump hot water from a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons shoyu tare to the bottom. Ladle in 400–500ml simmering broth and stir briefly. Add drained noodles and spread with chopsticks. Lay 3–4 chashu slices on one side, tuck in egg halves, add a mound of menma, scatter spring onions, stand a nori sheet against the side, and drizzle a teaspoon of mayu over the surface. Serve immediately. Do one bowl at a time.