What’s Tonkotsu?

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Tonkotsu is a Japanese noodle soup characterized by its salty pork broth. The most traditional preparations are made by boiling pork bones, usually for 12 hours or more. Quick-cooking or “instant” versions are also available, though these iterations often lack the richness of the more authentic — but time-consuming — originals. The dish is believed to have first been made on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, but is popular throughout the country as well as in Japanese food establishments around the world.

There are many different types of Japanese noodle soup, although tonkotsu is almost always prepared as ramen. Ramen noodles are thin and starchy and are usually designed to float in a salty, salty broth in clusters or “nests.” The defining feature of any tonkotsu isn’t the noodles so much as the broth, however.

Pork bones are needed for traditional tonkotsu. Cooks usually start with the freshest bones available, optimally with some fat and meat still attached. The bones must be simmered for hours. Most recipes call for at least 10 hours, with some calling for up to 15. Boiling this long ensures all the marrow has been released and creates a thick, fragrant broth.

Cooks typically strain the broth after it’s boiled to remove any fat or floating particles. The finished broth is usually milky white and opaque, and typically tastes distinctly porky. Noodles and other soup additions are added to this stock base.

The ingredients of tonkotsu can vary from cuisine to cuisine. The simplest soups are little more than pork bone broth, noodles, and a small side dish such as chopped shallots or sliced ​​mushrooms. Soy sauce is a common condiment, particularly when lightly sweetened.

More involved preparations often include hard-boiled eggs, robust vegetable presentations, and sliced ​​pork tenderloin or pork tenderloin. In most cases, however, the quality of a tonkotsu is dictated more by its base broth than by its seasonings and additions. A number of cooks refuse to add more than scant seasonings to their creations for fear of masking or blurring the delicately balanced broth.

Not all consumers are so picky, and many tonkotsu-inspired ramen restaurants are available in restaurants and for home cooks. These are usually marked with a pork broth that tastes reminiscent of broth simmered with bones for hours, but usually relies more on flavor extracts and seasonings than real bone marrow or time-saturated taste. Japanese soups in this category often satisfy the cravings of tonkotsu ramen lovers without requiring the time or expense of traditional preparation.

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