Instant Pot Tonkotsu Ramen

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"Tonkotsu" is the Japanese word for "pork soup" and anytime I hear "tonkotsu ramen" I get immensely excited. Tonkotsu ramen is my favorite food in the world, and even though making it takes painstaking love, the end results are a real treat. Make this over the weekend! It's great for company as well.

For the broth:

1 lb pig’s feet

1 lb pork bones (you can use a ham bone, I have the butcher cut it into pieces)

1 root fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

1 white onion, chunked

3 carrots, peeled and cut into pieces

4 stalks celery, cut into pieces 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

6 cups water

1 sheet konbu or dashima

1/4 cup dark soy sauce

1/2 cup regular soy sauce

For the marinated pork belly (chashu):

2 1/2 lb pork belly, skin off

1 cup regular soy sauce

1/3 cup mirin

1/3 cup white sugar 1

/3 cup sake or rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup water

1 1-inch piece peeled, fresh ginger, sliced or grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Ajitsuke tamago (marinated eggs):

3/4 cup mirin or rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup regular soy sauce

1/4 cup dark soy sauce

Buckwheat or thin ramen noodles of choice

Deep fried, thinly-sliced garlic

Bean sprouts, for serving

Chopped green onion, for serving

Menma (marinated bamboo shoots) if desired

Kikurage (marinated black mushrooms) if desired

Sesame oil, for drizzling

Sesame seeds, if desired

For the chashu:

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat vegetable oil in a large, ovenproof pan. Brown the pork belly on all sides. Combine the marinade ingredients and pour over. Top with water until the pork belly is half submerged. Cook the pork belly for 3 hours, turning every 1/2 hour.

Bring the pork belly and marinade to room temperature and store in the refrigerator. Do not throw away the marinade, you will be using for the tare, which is the base of the ramen broth.

For the broth:

Preheat an oven to Roast at 400 degrees. Place the pork bones on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour, or until the bones are roasted but the marrow hasn’t melted completely.

In an Instant Pot, press the Sauté setting. Brown the pig’s feet until browned on all sides. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, carrots and celery. Brown on all sides. Transfer to a cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth up.

Place the browned pig’s feet, roasted pork bones and melted marrow residue on the pan, cheesecloth, dashima, a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper into the InstantPot. Set to Manual for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, release the vent. Once the steam is released, open the lid and skim the fat off the top. Add in the soy sauce and close the lid again. Set to Manual for another 40 minutes. Strain the liquid into a pot.

For the ajitsuke tamago (marinated eggs):

Heat a pot of boiling water. Add 1 tbsp vinegar to the water. Boil the eggs for 6-8 minutes. Remove from the water and place in a bowl of ice water immediately. Combine the marinade ingredients. Peel the boiled eggs and then place into the marinade mixture. Refrigerate overnight.

To assemble:

Heat the pork marinade mixture in a saucepan, until boiling. Place 1/4 cup in a ramen bowl. Spoon the pork broth on top. Drizzle with a small sprinkling of sesame oil. Add the cooked ramen noodles and extend noodles and fold over. Slice the pork belly into thin slices and place atop the noodles. Slice an egg in half and place next to the pork belly. Add the bean sprouts, fried garlic, menma, kikurage and a sprinkling of sesame seeds and green onion.

Serve.

To make spicy, you can also add to the broth before adding noodles, 1 tbsp Japanese chili paste (not the Thai chili paste).