Here's the recipe I'm going from. This calls for 8lbs of pork bones and 0.8lbs of pork fatback to cook at a low temp for 12-18hrs. hehehe this is going to be awesomehttps://t.co/l0UvO6TSZi
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 5, 2020
To be honest, my mental health has taken a beating this past year, and being able to have a multi-hour or multi-day kitchen project to keep my hands and mind busy has been enormously helpful at keeping me moving and trying.
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 5, 2020
8lbs of pork necks soaking overnight before the 12-18hr cook begins for tonkotsu broth v1.0! pic.twitter.com/UdWLeZqXck
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 6, 2020
After an overnight soak, the pork bones have been drained, new water added, and now I'm doing a quick boil to remove scum ans impurities before the 12-hour slow boil begins. This is gonna be sooo good. pic.twitter.com/joFie9zYlu
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 6, 2020
ugghh it's been like an hour and it's still not boiling yet. I'm afraid to open the throttle and go full heat because I don't want to accidentally destroy or burn the pork necks. It's 9:30am and technically I haven't even started the main 12hr boil.
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 6, 2020
And now we officially begin! I've blanched the bones and cleaned up all the impurities that bubbled up, cleaned the pork necks, scrubbed the stock pot, and now it's back on the stovetop with fresh water and fatback added. Now this goes for 12-18 hours. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/Me06vXHPaM
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 6, 2020
Had to remove from heat briefly to control the boil — new to using this cooktop — and had a moment to appreciate the beautiful fats coming out. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/9lYk63vUbp
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 6, 2020
Hour 3 of the boil. It's fascinating feeling how all of this is breaking down when I stir it, and how the broth is starting to take on color. All those delicious fats are becoming more and more visible, and I keep stepping outside then back in to appreciate the aroma. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/jTUCsl8Uep
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 6, 2020
Hour 4 of the boil. The fatback is melting into this and the bones are separating from the meat. The color has totally changed and it seems more like ramen broth now. I should add that I've been adding small amounts of water as it boils off to keep a consistent volume. pic.twitter.com/DdH47cGHzH
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 6, 2020
Hour 6 of the boil! The fatback has mostly melted, and almost all the meat has separated from the neck bones. Walking into the apartment feels like a sledgehammer to the face of pork essence. Enter the porkscape! We are just over halfway done now. pic.twitter.com/feqrnYQsQJ
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
Quick stir to show how everything is reducing. I can't wait to taste this… pic.twitter.com/gHfh9vkkvt
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
I'd like to note here that I've been reading about vegetarian and even vegan-friendly ramen that uses soy milk to mimic the silky texture of all this glorious melty pork broth. I'm interested in trying that sometime soon. 🙂
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
To recap, I soaked 8lbs of pork necks overnight, poured out the liquid, blanched them for a couple hours, removed all the scum I could, poured out the liquid, added water to cover them and 2lbs of pork fatback, and boiled it until it turned into 2 gallons of pure pork essence. pic.twitter.com/SLwbIjIyTL
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
Hour 10 of the tonkotsu ramen broth boil! That's ten pounds of pork that has reduced into a beautiful creamy liquid. The suspended pork fat globules and all the rest look like egg drop soup. pic.twitter.com/mAbjAsGImA
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
closing in on hour 11 of this boil and I've totally normalized all the air being pork, all the time. I don't remember a world of porkless air, but it sounds horrible.
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
Scoop from the middle of the boiling broth before stirring, and a scoop after stirring to get more of the suspended fats. It's amazing how creamy it looks. I haven't tasted yet, as I'm saving that for after I strain it and prepare it for the refrigerator. Less than an hour to go! pic.twitter.com/UwRoPkPzNk
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
Tomorrow, I'll make the tare, which is the flavor base. This is an interesting mix of a shoyu (soy) base and dashi, which includes toasting niboshi (tiny fish, looks like anchovies but aren't) in sesame oil before combining it all. This is also entirely new to me. Eager to try! pic.twitter.com/iUqTFh30WN
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
This is the article where I learned about the differences in soy sauces, primarily the soybean-to-wheat ratio and how that affects flavor and color toward the wheatier end of the spectrum. Dark soy sauce tastes like a well-cooked portobello mushroom. 🙂https://t.co/S3SS3427iK
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 7, 2020
Time to make the dashi for my shoyu tare! (fish broth for the soy sauce ramen flavoring) That's sesame oil, bonito fish flakes, kombu seaweed, and niboshi, which are tiny fish that look like anchovies but aren't. I soaked the kombu overnight for briny flavor water. pic.twitter.com/5bU5jiexXx
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
Time for the soy sauce blend! I've never used white soy sauce before (the lighter the soy sauce, the higher the ratio of wheat to soybean) 1/4c dark, 1/2c regular, and 1/4c white. Huge spectrum of flavor from mushroomy to salty to bright and wheaty! Heated that and added dashi. pic.twitter.com/5QeJsmE9oP
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
Can't forget your ajitama ramen eggs! Simmer sake and mirin until the alcohol cooks off, add soy sauce and ginger and garlic with sugar, simmer, then let come to room temp. Poke the egg bottoms with a pushpin, boil 6m10s (stir first 2m to center the yolk!), shock, peel, marinate. pic.twitter.com/YBXibJhLdL
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
Green parts of green onions are ready, and the chashu I made and froze has been warming up to room temp for the last two hours. The eggs are marinating! I'm preheating the oven to warm the bowls. This is about to happen! pic.twitter.com/K1A38WjOJ4
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
yesssss we're almost ready pic.twitter.com/hT0eg4q0nP
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
yesssss we're almost ready pic.twitter.com/hT0eg4q0nP
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
RAMEN TIME!!!!! pic.twitter.com/BEhYySBibY
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
Want to know the best part of all of this multi-day effort? This wasn't just for one bowl. 🙂
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020
I have 18 bowls of broth left, 2 servings of homemade noodles, 8 more servings of the soy sauce/dashi tare, and 4 more eggs. All I need to do is reheat and boil noodles and BOOM! Ramen. pic.twitter.com/GMxyOwymgZ
The pork broth is now my canvas. I have all sorts of experiments to make now that I have so much to work with. I'll add mushrooms, bok choy, ground pork mixed with spicy garlic pepper sauce, tofu, miso, bean sprouts, sliced tonkatsu cutlet, spicy ginger, fishcake, roast tomato… pic.twitter.com/rpuAWLmJi5
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) December 9, 2020