Tonkatsu ramen | Pork bones

Tonkatsu ramen, using pork bones

Make your own nutrient dense and nurturing pork bone broth ramen at home with a few quality ingredients and time. The prep and cook is quite minimal, you just need to plan for the broth cooking time. This is perfect thing to have bubbling away on a work from home day or slow Sunday. We use a combination of pork bones and pork trotters or double up on the bones if trotters aren't available when you shop. The most important thing is that you've got exceptional quality, Australian pasture raised bones.

Ingredients for broth

2kg pork bones (or 1kg bones and 1-2 pig trotters)

2 brown onions 

2 x 5cm piece ginger 

6 cloves garlic

1 bunch spring onion 

3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms, 

Garnish 

3 seaweed sheets 

Cooked pork or chicken meat

Soft boiled eggs 

½ bunch spring onion 

Ramen noodles 

Protein

Leftover pork or chicken meat, about 80g per person. Roasted meats are extra yum but any cooked meat is fine.

Broth method 

1. Place the pork bones into a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.
2. The next morning, strain the bones and place the bones into a pot and cover with water. Bring to boil for 5 min, then strain the bones and rinse the bones clean. 
3. Now we start our ramen. Place the bones in a pot and fill your pot up with filtered water, add remaining broth ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil.
4. Keep the broth at a rolling boil (medium heat) for 10-12 hrs with the lid on. I suggest doing this recipe when you have a home day. The broth will need to be topped up with water every 30 min or so.
5. Strain the broth at the end of the cook. The broth will be rich and creamy, not clear.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Garnish Method

1. For the soft-boiled eggs, bring a pot to a boil and drop one egg per person into the pot, cook for 6 min. Run the cooked eggs under cold water or ideally place them in an ice bath to stop them cooking further, peel and set aside.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your ramen noodles as instructed on the packet.
3. Cut your seaweed sheets into 4 and slice your spring onion.  
4. Slice your choice of roast pork or chicken, dunk your protein in the broth to warm the protein up. We love using leftovers from a pork or chicken roast the night before. 
5. To assemble, warm your bowl up under hot running water, pour the water out and add your noodles, then broth, then proteins, seaweed and top with the sliced onion.