Tonkotsu ramen
豚骨ラーメン
Pork bones boiled hard until the broth turns white and thick, with a soy tare, rolled chashu and a marinated egg. A long weekend project, or a pressure-cooker afternoon.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 豚骨ラーメン.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 7 hr 30 min
- Rest
- 4 hr
- Total
- 12 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- A bit of work
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Tonkotsu is the white ramen. Pork trotters and bones are blanched, scrubbed clean, then boiled at a hard, rolling boil for hours until the collagen and fat break down into the water and the broth turns opaque, thick and sticky on the lips. The violence is the method: a polite simmer gives clear stock, not tonkotsu. At home there are two honest routes. Either seven hours on the hob, topping up with boiling water, or 90 minutes in a pressure cooker followed by half an hour of hard open boiling to emulsify. Each bowl gets a spoon of soy-and-mirin tare from the chashu pot, thin firm noodles, rolled pork belly and a marinated egg.
What you'll need
16 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Broth
- Chashu, tare and eggs
- Bowls
Ingredients
Broth
- Pig's trotters, split lengthways by the butcher1 kg
- Pork, neck or back bones, cut into pieces1 kg
- Garlic, a whole head, halved across1
- Ginger, sliced, skin on30 g
- Spring onion, whites into the broth, greens sliced fine for the bowls6
- Water, plus boiling water for topping up5 l
Chashu, tare and eggs
Bowls
- Wheat noodles, thin, straight fresh ramen noodles, 120 g a bowl480 g
- Sesame seed, toasted9.9 ml
- Nori, cut in half (optional)4 sheet
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Put the trotters and bones in the stockpot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil 10 minutes, then drain and rinse every piece under the tap, rubbing off the grey scum and any dark blood. Wash the pot.
25 min
Tip: Skipping this step gives a grey, livery broth. It is the dullest ten minutes and the most important.
Step 2
Return the bones to the clean pot with 5 litres of fresh water, the garlic, ginger and spring onion whites. Bring to a full rolling boil and keep it there, lid ajar, for 7 hours, topping up with boiling water so the bones stay covered and scraping the bottom every hour. For the pressure cooker, use only enough water to cover the bones, about 3 litres, cook 90 minutes at high pressure, let the pressure drop by itself, then boil hard with the lid off for 30 minutes.
420 min
Tip: The hard boil is what emulsifies fat into the water and turns the broth white.
Watch: Never let the level drop so far that the bones catch on the bottom; a scorched pot makes the whole broth bitter. A pressure cooker of bone stock foams: fill it no more than half full and never quick-release it, or fat and broth spray from the valve.
Step 3
While the broth boils, roll the pork belly into a tight log and tie it with kitchen string every 3 cm. Brown it all over in a saucepan, then add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and 200 ml water. Cover and simmer very gently for 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes. Let it cool in the liquid, then chill the pork so it slices cleanly.
150 min
Step 4
Lower the eggs into boiling water for 6 minutes 30 seconds, cool them in iced water and peel. Strain some of the cooled chashu liquid into a small bag or tub, add the eggs and marinate in the fridge at least 4 hours or overnight. The rest of the chashu liquid is your tare.
10 min
Step 5
Strain the broth through a sieve, pressing on the bones. It should be white, opaque and leave your lips sticky; you want about 2 litres. If it tastes thin, boil it hard uncovered for another 20 minutes. Do not salt it; the tare seasons each bowl.
15 min
Step 6
Warm the bowls. Put 3 tablespoons of tare in each and whisk in 400 ml of boiling broth. Taste, and add more tare or a pinch of salt until it is properly seasoned; the chashu liquid is milder than a shop tare. Cook the noodles in a big pan of unsalted boiling water for 60 to 90 seconds, lift with a spider, shake hard and slide them into the broth. Top with slices of chashu, a halved egg, spring onion greens, sesame and nori.
5 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1787 kcal
- Protein
- 154.6 g
- Carbs
- 90.1 g
- Fat
- 81 g
- Saturated fat
- 26.6 g
- Fibre
- 7.2 g
- Sugar
- 17.9 g
- Sodium
- 6156 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Soy
- Eggs
- Sesame
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Pig's trotters → Chicken feet plus extra pork bones
Trotters bring the collagen that makes the broth sticky. Chicken feet do the same job; the broth tastes slightly more of chicken.
Fresh thin ramen noodles → Dried thin straight ramen
Avoid wavy instant noodles. Cook a minute under the packet time.
Tips
- Hakata counters put out red pickled ginger, sesame and spicy pickled mustard greens. Add them halfway through, not at the start.
- Freeze leftover broth in portions. Bring it back to a hard boil when you reheat it, or the fat separates out again.
- Thin noodles keep cooking in the bowl. Pull them early; firm is right.
History & culture
Tonkotsu belongs to Kyushu, and above all to Hakata in Fukuoka, where yatai stalls along the river serve it late into the night. Noodles are thin and straight, ordered by firmness, and a second portion, kaedama, can be dropped into whatever broth is left. Red pickled ginger, sesame and spicy mustard greens sit on the counter for you to add yourself.
Kurume, an hour south of Fukuoka, claims the first pork-bone ramen, sold from a stall in 1937. The broth was clear at first. The story goes that in the late 1940s a Kurume cook left his pot boiling too hard for too long, found it cloudy, and liked it. Hakata shops refined the style after the war, and from the 1980s chains carried it to Tokyo and later abroad.
Modern adaptation — Hakata shops boil bones for 12 hours or more and many keep one pot going for days, adding fresh bones and water as they serve. Seven hours at home, or a pressure cooker plus a hard open boil, gets a properly white, sticky broth that is a little lighter than a shop's. The rolled, braised belly chashu is the common home and Tokyo style; Hakata counters often use thinner slices.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Tonkotsu ramen take?
12 hr 10 min all in — 40 min prep, 7 hr 30 min cook, 4 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
A bit of work.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Soy, Eggs, Sesame. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
11 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot, Pressure cooker, Saucepan, Spider or strainer, Chef's knife, Cutting board.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Soy sauce — 200 ml. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much soy sauce?
200 ml of Soy sauce.
How much mirin?
100 ml of Mirin.
How much sugar?
2 tbsp of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Pig's trotters → Chicken feet plus extra pork bones. Trotters bring the collagen that makes the broth sticky. Chicken feet do the same job; the broth tastes slightly more of chicken. Fresh thin ramen noodles → Dried thin straight ramen. Avoid wavy instant noodles. Cook a minute under the packet time.
What should I watch for?
Never let the level drop so far that the bones catch on the bottom; a scorched pot makes the whole broth bitter. A pressure cooker of bone stock foams: fill it no more than half full and never quick-release it, or fat and broth spray from the valve.
Any tips from this recipe?
Hakata counters put out red pickled ginger, sesame and spicy pickled mustard greens. Add them halfway through, not at the start. Freeze leftover broth in portions. Bring it back to a hard boil when you reheat it, or the fat separates out again. Thin noodles keep cooking in the bowl. Pull them early; firm is right.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Freeze leftover broth in portions. Bring it back to a hard boil when you reheat it, or the fat separates out again. Lower the eggs into boiling water for 6 minutes 30 seconds, cool them in iced water and peel. Strain some of the cooled chashu liquid into a small bag or tub, add the eggs and marinate in the fridge at least 4 hours or overnight. The rest of the chashu liquid is your tare.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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