This rich and creamy tonkotsu ramen broth is incredibly easy to make from scratch. It’s the ultimate umami-packed, lip-smacking ramen broth loaded with complex flavors and slurpy deliciousness. And while it requires ample cooking time, it could not be simpler or more satisfying to make (or eat). Plus, it freezes really well so you can make extra to enjoy any night of the week (all winter long).
4 Key Components of Great Homemade Ramen
If you’ve been following along for Ramen Month, you know that a great bowl of Japanese ramen is not only possible to make at home, but it’s incredibly easy. Noodles are a very important component, but in my opinion, the broth is at least equally (if not even more) important. And ramen just wouldn’t be ramen without various delicious toppings and tare which allows you to play around with both flavor and texture.
- Ramen broth which in this case is tonkotsu broth made using collagen-rich pig trotters and chicken backs). I have cooked this ramen broth for 8 hours, but I’ve made it in as few as 6 hours and cooked it for up to 13 hours. I think 8 hours is the sweetspot. When the broth is chilled it should look and feel like Jell-o.
- Chewy alkaline ramen noodles which can be made with or without the addition of eggs.
- Traditional ramen toppings of your choice like braised pork chashu (チャーシュー), ramen eggs (ajitsuke tamago), sliced scallions, braised pork belly, toasted sesame seeds, nori, bok choy, menma (fermented bamboo shoots, pickled ginger, bean sprouts, narutomake (sliced fish cake with the pink swirl in the middle), sautéed corn, spicy Japanese chili paste, and shitake mushrooms just to name a few.
- Tare (tah-reh) are seasonings usually added to ramen toward the end of cooking or directly to individual bowls of assembled ramen. The addition of tare means you can use one stock, but create multiple different flavored ramens. Three common Japanese ramen tare seasonings are miso (fermented bean paste), shoyu (soy), and shio (salt). Keep reading to find out more about tares and how to make them.
What is Tonkotsu (or Tonkotsu Ramen Broth)?
Tonkotsu (豚骨/とんこつ) translates as “pork bones” in Japanese, and it makes the best pork ramen you’ve ever had. Tonkotsu broth is special — it’s a rich, complex, milky-colored broth that’s traditionally made using collagen-rich pork bones and pork meat plus a few aromatics (like scallions, leeks, ginger, and mushrooms to name a few).
The broth is cooked on a low, rolling boil anywhere from 6 to 48 hours. Often chicken backs are added to balance the flavor (as is the case with this recipe because we love the way it tastes). The long cooking time is necessary to extract fat, protein, collagen, and minerals from the bones and meat suspending and emulsifying them into the broth producing the milky-opaque color that tonkotsu broth is known for.
Techniques for Making Milky Opaque Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Broth
The below cooking tips and techniques will all but ensure your tonkostu ramen broth is milky, opaque, and super gelatinous, not unlike our favorite Momofuku, Ippudo, or Ivan ramen. Here are my favorite tips for making the best homemade pork tonkotsu broth from scratch.
- Choose pork pieces and/or chicken pieces that are collagen-rich (pig’s feet, chicken backs, chicken feet, chicken wings)
- Blanch the bones (and any meat), then rinse them under cold running water to clean them and remove any coagulated blood, and dark marrow pieces (basically, get rid of anything that’s not white or cream-colored). This gives you a “cleaner” more pure-tasting ramen broth that’s light-to-milky in color (not brown). *If you’re short on time, you can make the ramen broth by just blanching the bones and not cleaning them of the darker elements — it will taste really good, but the broth will be a dark brown color.
- Remove as much of the scum from the broth as it cooks which will help with both flavor and the appearance of the finished ramen broth. You can even wipe down the sides of the pot with a wet rag or paper towel to remove any scum sticking to the side of the pot.
- You can char the aromatics and/or the bones to add even more flavor to the broth (thanks Serious Eats for this tip), or just throw them in the pot raw. I’ve made it all of these ways including intensely charring onions, garlic, and ginger and it all tastes great.
- Be sure to maintain a consistent low, rolling boil which ensures you’ll end up with an opaque, creamy emulsified broth.
Below are a Few Bowls of Homemade Ramen
Most Common Types of Ramen Broth
Japanese ramen starts with homemade broth made from chicken stock, chicken and pork stock, seafood, or dashi (a broth made from kombu seaweed) depending on the type of ramen you’re making. Tare (ramen seasoning) is added at the end which gives you the ability to work with one broth, but have multiple different flavored bowls of ramen.
Below a Few Bowls of Ramen We’ve Eaten Around the World (for a little inspiration)
Why We Love This Tonkotsu Ramen Broth Recipe
- It’s easy and inexpensive to make
- There’s nothing better than the taste of piping hot tonkotsu on a cold day
- You can flavor it with different tares to create completely different tasting ramen
- You don’t need a reservation to eat this restaurant-quality homemade ramen
- It’s a great make-ahead-and-freeze recipe or it can be made 2 or 3 days in advance and kept in the fridge
I Like to Repurpose Soy Sauce Bottles to Store and Serve My Homemade Tare (below)
What is Tare What are the Most Common Types? (Shio Ramen vs. Shoyu Ramen vs. Miso Ramen)
Ramen is usually categorized by the type of tare that’s used to season the soup base (the broth). And like so many great dishes, there are countless individual recipes for it. I consider tare to be “the secret sauce” in ramen because it injects one last umami-rich flavor punch into an already slurpy delicious broth. It’s also what gives one ramen broth the ability to be flavored in countless ways. Ramen chefs never give up their tare recipes which can be aged for up to a week before being used to allow the flavors to meld together. The three most common categories of ramen according to tare, are:
- Shoyu tare (for Shoyu ramen). This type of tare in its most basic form is a combination of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, and often sake is also added. But it’s often flavored with aromatics like scallions, garlic, and ginger for even more flavor. It adds saltiness and more complex rich umami flavors to the broth. A good way to make a cheater’s shoyu tare is by using leftover strained chashu pork braising liquid as is, or by heating it in a small pot over medium heat until it’s reduced by about half if you want a thicker tare.
- Shio tare (for Shio ramen). Shio means “salt” and this type of tare relies on salt for extra flavor and dashi (broth made with kombu or katsuobushi bonito flakes), and allows the flavor of the broth to be front and center. Shio ramen yields a milder ramen broth.
- Miso tare (for Miso ramen). This is a popular type of tare used to make vegan and vegetarian ramen, but it’s enjoyed widely by anyone who loves ramen. It’s often combined with dashi to add a nutty, umami-sweet rich heartiness to ramen (or any soup you’re making).
How to Make Each Tare (Shoyu, Shio Ramen, and Miso)
Making homemade tare is a very personal thing so feel free to play around with the ingredients to make it your own. You can use the below recipes as a guideline or use them just as they are. For this tonkotsu broth, shoyu tare is the most common, but I’ve used all of the tares below and they’re each super tasty. Make one or two if you want and see which one you enjoy the most. I’m providing smaller portions, but feel free to double the recipes here.
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- Basic Shoyu tare 1. 1 cup soy sauce (235ml), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), and 1 1/2 tablespoons (18.5g) brown or granulated sugar. Heat the ingredients over low heat to dissolve the salt and feel free to add aromatics like 1 scallion, 1 garlic clove, and a slice of ginger for even more flavor. Allow the aromatics to steep for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Strain the solids before using.
- Basic Shoyu tare 2. 3 tablespoons (45g) soy sauce, 3 tablespoons mirin (45g), 1 tablespoon kosher salt (15g). Stir the ingredients together. You may add extra umami by adding one dried shitake or porcini mushroom and 1 teaspoon of bonito flakes (or more to taste) and bring the mixture to a boil, turning off the heat, and allowing the aromatics to steep for 30 minutes or overnight. Strain the solids before using.
- Cheater’s Shoyu tare. Use leftover strained chashu pork braising liquid as is, or reheat it in a small pot over medium heat until it’s reduced by about half if you want a thicker tare. This is a perfect way to use up the umami-rich chashu braising liquid.
- Shio tare (for Shio ramen). 1/2 cup dashi stock (118g), 1/4 cup sake (60g), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), 2 tablespoons kosher salt (15g). Combine all of the ingredients in a pot and bring them to a boil. Turn off the heat use immediately or allow the flavors to develop overnight. As with all of these tares, you can play around with flavor, adding 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 2 dried shitake mushrooms for even more umami flavor.
- Miso tare (for Miso ramen). 1/2 cup white miso paste (145g), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), 2 tablespoons Japanese sesame paste (30g) (sub tahini, or all-natural unsweetened peanut butter), 1 tablespoon sake (15g) (sub Shaoxing wine if that’s all you’ve got), 2 teaspoons Japnese chili paste or Sriracha (8g), or more to taste. Feel free to also add 1/4 cup of dashi stock (60g). Mix everything together and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. I typically use white miso for tare which is more delicate than its red counterpart but feel free to use 1/2 white and 1/2 red or whatever you have.
- Miso tare w/aromatics (for Miso ramen). 1/2 cup white miso paste (145g), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), 2 tablespoons Japanese sesame paste (30g) (sub tahini, or all-natural unsweetened peanut butter), 1 tablespoon sake (15g) (sub Shaoxing wine if that’s all you’ve got), 2 teaspoons Japnese chili paste or Sriracha (8g), or more to taste, 1 white scallion sliced, 1 garlic clove minced, 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, or more to taste. Add everything except the miso to the bowl of a food processor and blend until it’s a nice smooth paste. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepot and cook stirring constantly so as not to burn it for about 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant. Transfer everything back to a bowl, add the miso paste and whisk to combine. Store in the refrigerator for a few days, or freeze it for up to 3 months in an airtight container with a piece of parchment in direct contact with the tare to avoid ice crystals forming. I typically use white miso for tare which is more delicate than its red counterpart but feel free to use 1/2 white and 1/2 red or whatever you have.
- Overnight Dashi Stock (for Shio & Miso tare). 2 cups water (470g), one 2×2 inch piece of kombu kelp (5×5 cm), 1 cup bonito flakes (8g). Rinse the kombu and add all of the ingredients to a sealable container and refrigerate overnight. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer before using it. This makes about 1 1/2 cups more than what you’ll need for the shio tare, and 1 3/4 cups more for the miso tare (if you even want to use it). You may use any leftover dashi stock for a tasty miso soup by adding the desired amount of miso paste to the broth and heating it up. Use dashi stock within 2 to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Tonkotsu Ramen Broth Ingredients
This tonkotsu broth is super delicious as is, but depending on what I have in my pantry and fridge when I make it, I’ll sometimes add a little more of “this and that” like trimmed fat from Prosciutto di Parma, or a slice of bacon or speck for a slightly smoky flavor. If you want to add a few more shitake mushrooms or scallions, go ahead. If you’re out of leeks, sub onions, or more scallions. Feel free to substitute chicken feet and/or chicken wings for the chicken backs if you can’t find them. If you don’t have bonito flakes, just leave them out. And you can also add a piece or two of uncured pork belly, or 1/2 pound (225g) unsalted pork back fat to give the finished broth even more flavor and slurpy mouthfeel. You get the idea, it’s a versatile broth with room to put your own spin on it.
Tonkotsu Broth Ingredients
- pork trotters (pig’s feet)
- chicken backs
- oil
- carrot
- onion
- scallions
- leeks
- dried or fresh shitake mushrooms
- bonito flakes
- garlic cloves
- ginger
- water
How to Make Homemade Tonkotsu Ramen Broth
You may choose to sear the vegetables, pork, and chicken first after blanching and cleaning the bones, or you can skip this step which isn’t traditional but adds extra flavor. You can even skip cleaning the bones after you’ve blanched them which will still taste great but renders a darker brown broth instead of the milky white broth. It’s up to you and how much time you have. I’ve cooked this broth for 8 hours, but feel free to cook it for as few as 6 hours and as much as 13 hours (which I’ve also done). If you cook it for 12 to 13 hours, you’ll need to add water back to it to make it less sludgy (unless you like your ramen really thick).
- Blanch and clean the pork and chicken. In a large pot or dutch oven, add pork and chicken and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and immediately turn off the heat. Strain the water and wash the bones under cold running water. Clean the pot and dry it. Use a chopstick or skewer to clean the bones by removing any dark-colored coagulated blood, marrow, etc. Give the bones one last final rinse and set aside.
- Sear the vegetables. To the same pot, add the oil and pan-sear the vegetables and aromatics until slightly charred. This step is optional but adds good flavor to the finished broth. Feel free to skip to step #3.
- Cook the tonkotsu. Add the pork and chicken to the pot with the vegetables and cover them with water to fully immerse the bones. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a low-rolling boil. Skim off any scum that floats to the top until no more floats to the surface. You can clean the sides of the pot with a damp kitchen cloth to remove the scum that sticks to the sides as well. Once you’ve removed all the scum, cover it with a lid and cook for 6 to 8 hours checking it every 2 hours or so to see if you need to top it up with more water. I had to add 2 cups of water at the 3h 40-minute cooking mark, but just use this as a guide. If you need more or less, add it accordingly. If you added pork fatback or a slice of pork belly, remove these pieces after about 4 hours of total cooking time (about halfway through) to a cutting board and chop finely once cool enough to handle. Store in the fridge until ready to add it back to the strained tonkotsu broth at the end of cooking.
- Strain the tonkotsu. When the tonkotsu is finished cooking, strain it through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Place it back into the pot and reduce it as little or as much as you want to get the desired consistency. Season with shoyu tare (or your favorite tare) before using it and Enjoy!
Tonkotsu Ramen Broth step-by-step recipe photos
How to Store Tonkotsu Ramen Broth
Tonkotsu ramen broth can be made 2 or 3 days in advance, cooled, and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to reheat and eat. Or you may portion and freeze it for much longer. Although it’s not normal for us to have ramen broth in the freezer for longer than 3 months, I did an experiment and left the tonkotsu (pictured in this post) in the freezer in a tempered glass canning jar for exactly 1 year (really). And it was just as good one year later as it was the day I made it. If you use a tempered glass canning jar to store your tonkotsu broth in the freezer, be sure to leave at least 1/2 inch of headspace because the liquid expands as it freezes. If you don’t leave a little empty space, the jar can break as the liquid freezes and expands.
How to Store Tare for Tonkotsu Ramen Broth
Refrigerate unused basic shoyu tare in the refrigerator for up to 3 months or in the freezer for up to a few months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before gently reheating it over a low flame until no longer cold. *If you’re making a “cheater’s shoyu tare” using leftover chashu pork braising liquid or adding any fresh vegetables like scallions, ginger, or garlic to your tare, it will not keep in the refrigerator as long as a traditional shoyu tare which doesn’t have any meat, meat byproducts, or fresh ingredients in it. You’ll need to store this kind of tare in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and in the freezer for longer storage.
How to Assemble a Bowl of Homemade Tonkotsu Ramen (above)
Add cooked hot ramen noodles to the center of a large bowl, add ramen toppings around the perimeter of the noodles, tuck in a sheet of nori and use a ramen egg to hold it in place. Get creative and add any traditional or non-traditional toppings you like. If you want to make gluten-free ramen, just skip the noodles and arrange the toppings in a bowl, and pour in the broth.
How to Reheat Tonkotsu Ramen Broth
Reheat the gelatinous pork stock in a pan over medium heat until boiling hot. Season it if it hasn’t already been seasoned with tare and serve.
Other Ramen Month Recipes to Make Ramen Night Any Night
If you’re just getting into making homemade ramen (and all the delicious components that go with it), you can start from the beginning with our favorite ramen recipes. Lots of these components can and should be made ahead and frozen which makes it easy to have real ramen any night of the week with minimal prep work. Here are the delicious Ramen Month recipes starting with baked baking soda.
- How to Make Baked Baking Soda (for Ramen, Chinese Wheat Noodles & Pretzels)
- How To Make Homemade Ramen Noodles From Scratch (The Easy Way)
- How to Make Perfect Jammy Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago 味付け卵)
- Easy Chashu Pork チャーシュー(Marinated Braised Pork Belly Recipe For Ramen )
- Crispy Shallow-Fried Chicken Breast Cutlets (Cotoletta di Pollo)
- Easy Japanese Braised Pork Belly (for Momofuku & Ippudo Style Pork Buns)
- Crispy Shallow-Fried Turkey Breast Cutlets (Cotoletta di Tacchino)
- Fluffy-Soft Homemade Pork Buns (Momofuku & Ippudo-Style)
Let’s get started!
Print
Rich and Creamy Homemade Tonkotsu Ramen Broth Recipe
- Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 Servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This rich and creamy tonkotsu ramen broth is incredibly easy to make from scratch. It’s the ultimate umami-packed, lip-smacking ramen broth loaded with complex flavors and slurpy deliciousness. And while it requires ample cooking time, it could not be simpler or more satisfying to make (or eat). Plus, it freezes really well so you can make extra to enjoy any night of the week (all winter long).
Ingredients
Tonkotsu Broth Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds pork trotters (pig’s feet), split in half or cut into quarters (.75kg)
- 1/2 pound of chicken backs (about 2) (.25 kg)
- 1 tablespoon oil (15g)
- 1/2 large onion
- 1/2 large carrot
- 2 scallions, or more to taste
- 1 whole leek, cut lengthwise (85g)
- 1 fresh or dried shitake mushroom, or more to taste (sub porcini)
- 1 teaspoon bonito flakes
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch piece of ginger (3g)
- enough water to cover the bones fully throughout the duration of cooking
Instructions
- Blanch and clean the pork and chicken. In a large pot or dutch oven, add pork and chicken and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and immediately turn off the heat. Strain the water and wash the bones under cold running water. Clean the pot and dry it. Use a chopstick or skewer to clean the bones by removing any dark-colored coagulated blood, marrow, etc. Give the bones one last final rinse and set aside.
- Sear the vegetables. To the same pot, add the oil and pan-sear the vegetables and aromatics until slightly charred. This step is optional but adds good flavor to the finished broth. Feel free to skip to step #3.
- Cook the tonkotsu. Add the pork and chicken to the pot with the vegetables and cover them with water to fully immerse the bones. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a low-rolling boil. Skim off any scum that floats to the top until no more floats to the surface. You can clean the sides of the pot with a damp kitchen cloth to remove the scum that sticks to the sides as well. Once you’ve removed all the scum, cover it with a lid and cook for 6 to 8 hours checking it every 2 hours or so to see if you need to top it up with more water. I had to add 2 cups of water at the 3h 40-minute cooking mark, but just use this as a guide. If you need more or less, add it accordingly. If you added pork fatback or a slice of pork belly, remove these pieces after about 4 hours of total cooking time (about halfway through) to a cutting board and chop finely once cool enough to handle. Store in the fridge until ready to add it back to the strained tonkotsu broth at the end of cooking.
- Strain the tonkotsu. When the tonkotsu is finished cooking, strain it through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Place it back into the pot and reduce it as little or as much as you want to get the desired consistency. Season with shoyu tare (or your favorite tare) before using it and Enjoy!
Notes
- This tonkotsu broth is super delicious as is, but depending on what I have in my pantry and fridge when I make it, I’ll sometimes add a little more of “this and that” like trimmed fat from Prosciutto di Parma, or a slice of bacon or speck for a slightly smoky flavor. If you want to add a few more shitake mushrooms or scallions, go ahead. If you’re out of leeks, sub onions, or more scallions. Feel free to substitute chicken feet and/or chicken wings for the chicken backs if you can’t find them. If you don’t have bonito flakes, just leave them out. And you can also add a piece or two of uncured pork belly, or 1/2 pound (225g) unsalted pork back fat to give the finished broth even more flavor and slurpy mouthfeel. You get the idea, it’s a versatile broth with room to put your own spin on it.
- I’ve cooked this broth for 8 hours, but feel free to cook it for as few as 6 hours and as much as 13 hours (which I’ve also done). If you cook it for 12 to 13 hours, you’ll need to add water back to it to make it less sludgy (unless you like your ramen really thick).
- If you do add a slab of pork fatback, be sure to remove it from the strained broth and chop it on a cutting board until it looks creamy and almost paste-like. Add it back to the strained broth and season it with tare.
- Save and repurpose old bottles of soy sauce to store your homemade tares in (the ones with the little pour spouts with a plastic seal like Kikkoman). Not only are they airtight, but they drizzle a little at a time which is perfect for placing on the table in case someone wants a little extra.
How to Make Each Tare (Shoyu, Shio Ramen and Miso)
Making homemade tare is a very personal thing so feel free to play around with the ingredients to make it your own. You can use the below recipes as a guideline or use them just as they are. For this tonkotsu broth, shoyu tare is the most common, but I’ve used all of the tares below and they’re each super tasty. Make one or two if you want and see which one you enjoy the most. I’m providing smaller portions, but feel free to double the recipes here.
-
- Basic Shoyu tare 1. 1 cup soy sauce (235ml), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), and 1 1/2 tablespoons (18.5g) brown or granulated sugar. Heat the ingredients over low heat to dissolve the salt and feel free to add aromatics like 1 scallion, 1 garlic clove, and a slice of ginger for even more flavor. Allow the aromatics to steep for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Strain the solids before using.
- Basic Shoyu tare 2. 3 tablespoons (45g) soy sauce, 3 tablespoons mirin (45g), 1 tablespoon kosher salt (15g). Stir the ingredients together. You may add extra umami by adding one dried shitake or porcini mushroom and 1 teaspoon of bonito flakes (or more to taste) and bring the mixture to a boil, turning off the heat, and allowing the aromatics to steep for 30 minutes or overnight. Strain the solids before using.
- Cheater’s Shoyu tare. Use leftover strained chashu pork braising liquid as is, or reheat it in a small pot over medium heat until it’s reduced by about half if you want a thicker tare. This is a perfect way to use up the umami-rich chashu braising liquid.
- Shio tare (for Shio ramen). 1/2 cup dashi stock (118g), 1/4 cup sake (60g), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), 2 tablespoons kosher salt (15g). Combine all of the ingredients in a pot and bring them to a boil. Turn off the heat use immediately or allow the flavors to develop overnight. As with all of these tares, you can play around with flavor, adding 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 2 dried shitake mushrooms for even more umami flavor.
- Miso tare (for Miso ramen). 1/2 cup white miso paste (145g), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), 2 tablespoons Japanese sesame paste (30g) (sub tahini, or all-natural unsweetened peanut butter), 1 tablespoon sake (15g) (sub Shaoxing wine if that’s all you’ve got), 2 teaspoons Japnese chili paste or Sriracha (8g), or more to taste. Feel free to also add 1/4 cup of dashi stock (60g). Mix everything together and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. I typically use white miso for tare which is more delicate than its red counterpart but feel free to use 1/2 white and 1/2 red or whatever you have.
- Miso tare w/aromatics (for Miso ramen). 1/2 cup white miso paste (145g), 2 tablespoons mirin (30g), 2 tablespoons Japanese sesame paste (30g) (sub tahini, or all-natural unsweetened peanut butter), 1 tablespoon sake (15g) (sub Shaoxing wine if that’s all you’ve got), 2 teaspoons Japnese chili paste or Sriracha (8g), or more to taste, 1 white scallion sliced, 1 garlic clove minced, 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, or more to taste. Add everything except the miso to the bowl of a food processor and blend until it’s a nice smooth paste. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepot and cook stirring constantly so as not to burn it for about 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant. Transfer everything back to a bowl, add the miso paste and whisk to combine. Store in the refrigerator for a few days, or freeze it for up to 3 months in an airtight container with a piece of parchment in direct contact with the tare to avoid ice crystals forming. I typically use white miso for tare which is more delicate than its red counterpart but feel free to use 1/2 white and 1/2 red or whatever you have.
- Overnight Dashi Stock (for Shio & Miso tare). 2 cups water (470g), one 2×2 inch piece of kombu kelp (5×5 cm), 1 cup bonito flakes (8g). Rinse the kombu and add all of the ingredients to a sealable container and refrigerate overnight. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer before using it. This makes about 1 1/2 cups more than what you’ll need for the shio tare, and 1 3/4 cups more for the miso tare (if you even want to use it). You may use any leftover dashi stock for a tasty miso soup by adding the desired amount of miso paste to the broth and heating it up. Use dashi stock within 2 to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
How to Store Tonkotsu Ramen Broth
Tonkotsu ramen broth can be made 2 or 3 days in advance and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to reheat and eat. Or you may portion and freeze it for much longer. Although it’s not normal for us to have ramen broth in the freezer for longer than 3 months, I did an experiment and left the tonkotsu (pictured in this post) in the freezer in a tempered glass canning jar for exactly 1 year (really). And it was just as good one year later as it was the day I made it. If you use a tempered glass canning jar to store your tonkotsu broth in the freezer, be sure to leave at least 1/2 inch of headspace because the liquid expands as it freezes. If you don’t leave a little empty space, the jar can break as the liquid freezes and expands.
How to Store Tare for Tonkotsu Ramen Broth
Refrigerate unused basic shoyu tare in the refrigerator for up to 3 months or in the freezer for up to a few months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before gently reheating it over a low flame until no longer cold. *If you’re making a “cheater’s shoyu tare” using leftover chashu pork braising liquid or adding any fresh vegetables like scallions, ginger, or garlic to your tare, it will not keep in the refrigerator as long as a traditional shoyu tare which doesn’t have any meat, meat byproducts, or fresh ingredients in it. You’ll need to store this kind of tare in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and in the freezer for longer storage.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Category: Soups & Stews
- Method: Long Simmer Stovetop
- Cuisine: Japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 to 3 cups
