This was my first time eating professionally made ramen (I eat instant noodles on a regular basis). I am also a big Pho fan (am Vietnamese) which I know is not comparable as pho has "clear broth" to begin with.
This ramen shop is well reviewed, located in VA, US. I ordered Tonkotsu ramen and managed to finish only half. The charred pork was very flavorful but super fatty, and the broth was almost like chowder thick. It was also very salty. I could barely finish half of the bowl.
I brought the rest home in a container, put it in the fridge overnight. The day after, it wouldn't even fall out of the container, had to dig it out. Also scraped away the top layer of fat. Then I added about an equal amount of water, bring it to a boil, and it tasted great.
Just wondering if this is standard for *professional* ramen. If so then I guess it's not meant to be.
by sc4kilik
26 Comments
Yes Tonkotsu is usually much thicker than a traditional pho broth. I sometimes refer to it as drinking liquid bacon 😄
Different types of ramen will be less thick
For tonkotsu ramen in the Hakata style, the style upon which most ramen in the USA is based on, yes. It’s super rich and creamy. There are plenty of other styles of ramen more similar to pho in that they have a clear broth, but this ain’t it.
Looks like some good Tonkotsu!
normal and shocking every time
For people that eat ramen often it’s common to eat just the noodles and toppings and not finish the broth, due to the fat/salt content.
From my experience, yes. Cooking pork bones low and slow (12 + hours) is the process of making Tonkotsu, which breaks down the marrow, fat, and collagen in the bones, emulsifying them into the broth. The more time, the richer and thicker the broth is.
Try shoyu or shio ramen- clear broths, not as filling or fatty ☺️
Like another commenter said, you might prefer a shio (salt) or shoyu (soy) broth. They’re both thin/clear soups. A miso broth will be thinner and less fatty than a tonkotsu broth, but thicker than shio or shoyu, and not clear.
All these broths should be saltier than pho broth, don’t feel obligated to finish the liquids.
You’re not supposed to drink all the broth in ramen due to the massive fat and salt content
You don’t have to finish the broth.
Yes, Tonkotsu is made by boiling meat that is high in cartilage. Authentic Tonkotsu ramen will almost always be quite thick and it’s not that it’s fat but collagen and gelatin extracted from the 8+ hour boil. Hell, some places in Japan will even add fat onto the top of the ramen which is so delicious!
Ramen is made with 5 key ingredients: broth, noodles, tare, aromatic oil and toppings.
For lighter ramen, you want a lighter broth. One key term to be aware of is “Paitan” which translates to “White Soup” which is broth that is created by boiling any type of meat & bones long and MIGHT be fatty but sometimes it can be surprisingly light! Below is a quick list of the most common ramen broth types:
* Shoyu — Soy Sauce based, usually made with Chicken, Fish or Pork. Medium in fat content
* Miso — Miso based, usually made with Chicken or Pork stock. Medium to High in fat content
* Shio — Salt based, usually light and often made with fish stock. Light to medium in fat content
* Tonkotsu — Refer to above about a “Paitan” soup, Tonkotsu falls into that category. Medium to High in fat
* Tantanmen — Sesame based, VERY THICK RICH BROTH. It can be almost as thick as a curry. Medium to High fat
* Tsukemen — Broth is thick and concentrated, noodles are served separately and you dip them into the broth. Similar to soba
DISCLAIMER — The above can be used to describe the TARE of a ramen, not the BROTH. The tare is the small amount of concentrated seasoning that is added to a ramen. A Shio Tonkatsu ramen is NOT going to be a clear light soup, but it was seasoned with a Shio-based tare.
And the sacrilegious thing to mention in r/ramen…. if you can, try Soba or Udon. Those broths are mostly light and clear broths similar to Pho but are more focused on being a clean flavor.
Hope this helped!
Ramen is joy!
The popular chain called Ichiran (some call it overpriced tourist trap) is actually one of the lighter tonkotsu styles and that’s one reason it’s generally liked by people since not everyone can eat heavy/fatty styles. You could give that a try when you get the chance, if you still want to eat tonkotsu.
Was this from Umai? I was there this week! Imo, they have some of the best ramen in the area!
I know people have jumped in about Tonkatsu but a big part to mention is *why* it’s like that.
All ramen have different seafood bases and while there are classics there are plenty of seafood and chicken based soups.
Tonkatsu is special because the creaminess comes from cooking the bones until they begin to crumble, usually of a high gelatin cut. If the idea of a thicker soup that doesn’t sit as heavy, I am a fan of Tori Paitan. It’s Tonkatsu but instead of pork it’s chicken so despite being creamy it wasn’t as heavy.
Yes, tonkotsu broths are usually rich like that. If you want a lighter broth, I would recommend trying out shio or shoyu.
If you want the flavour of tonkotsu but not the thickness, there’s some ramen restaurants I’ve been to that have signs specifically saying you can ask for them to thin the broth, I assume they just add some water to the thicker tonkotsu?
you need to try bun bo hue .. or hu tieu
Tonkatsu is made with a concentrated pork bone broth, it has a good bit of fat and protein. Pho is made with regular beef broth. It might be made also with bones, but it isn’t made with the long low cook that tonkatsu broth uses, so it doesn’t get all that collagen and rendered fat.
Yes this is normal, the broth has the white color from emulsifying the fats from the bones and bone marrow
I want to taste it
If it doesn’t solidify in the fridge then I don’t want it
Ramen soup can be classified as paitan (thick) or Chintan (clear). Tonkotsu is a paitan pretty much as thick as you can get so pretty much anything else should be lighter lol.
Lol yes. Also Vietnamese and love pho, especially for hangovers, but give me a fatty tonkotsu ramen any day.
I guess no one told you this: you’re not really supposed to drink all/alot of the Ramen broth. I don’t know if there’s any noodle dish where you are supposed to drink all of the broth.
I can see someone doing that with Pho as it is relatively clean/light/refreshing. But no, you aren’t supposed to drink the Ramen broth whether it is Tonkotsu or otherwise.
Tonkotsu is thick and creamy because the pork bones are boiled at a rapid boil for hours, and often pork fat is added to it as well, which causes the fat and gelatin to emulsify giving a creamy texture.
Other ramen will use more standard broths like chicken or pork but boiled more mildly without added fat.
In either case a tare is added generally shoyu or miso which is actually the main flavor component.
The best starting point for someone new to ramen is shoyu ( soy sauce) ramen. Shoyu ramen is clear broth ramen. I’m fortunate to have a ramen shop available to me that also offers a less-salt option, which is still salty and flavorful.