My first Tonkotsu from scratch

I've been creeping this subreddit for the good part of two years building up the courage to commit and dive down the ramen rabbit hole. Finally decided to make a bowl of tonkotsu from scratch, and let's just say I was shocked how well it turned out (not due in any part to my skill and everything to do with the wealth of knowledge shared by all of you).

Huge shoutout to u/ramen_lord's years worth of experimentation and research that has been distilled into simple instructions that help mere mortals like myself make delicious ramen. If you haven't checked out his free Ebook, it's an absolute must.

For those who care to see the recipes I used and hear what I learned:

Tonkotsu broth

I combined the approaches outlined in Ramen Lord's Ebook and his post on pressure cooker tonkotsu broth.

The bones I got from H Mart had quite a bit of meat on them (maybe ~30% by weight), and I couldn't find any guidance as to whether you should clean the bones free of meat or not so I just kept it (anyone have any insights?). I also could not split the femur bones I got (which may not have been an issue as I was using a pressure cooker). Neither of these decisions seemed to negatively affect the final result of the broth, which was pure creamy white and had fantastic, strong pork flavor.

Blending the broth after a hard boil was key to getting a great and stable emulsion with a milky white opaque color, though it did introduce a bit of air that frothed the broth (gained ~25% volume after blending). However, the froth completely disappeared after simmering for a while before serving.

I halved the recipe (~2kg of bones, half femur half neck) and ended up with 3.5 liters of broth after diluting to my desired consistency (which was maybe on the thicker end for some of my guests, but I and others enjoyed it).

Tare

I used Ramen Lord's Tonkotsu Shio tare as a base, but made a couple of changes:

• I wanted a touch of soy in mine, so I subbed maybe 15% of the salt for soy sauce just for a hint of that flavor.
• I also personally enjoy the traditional dashi flavors, so I did 10g less MSG and instead added 15g of Katsuobushi (steeped for 5 minutes in the hot tare after simmering) and 10g of kombu (steeped in the tare for a few hours after making, then removed).

For me this tare was delicious. I was worried after experimenting too much that it would have too many flavors that distract from the amazing broth flavor, but I felt that it was well balanced and paired great with the broth. I did find the standard 30ml per 300ml of broth was a bit too much, so I was closer to 25ml per serving.

Aromatic Oils

• Mayu: I've had this in tonkotsu before and was curious to make it. I followed Ramen Lord's recipe in his book, though I found it was a little too strong so I cut it 1:1 with some standard negi oil. Can't say whether or not it did much flavor-wise, but it certainly looked pretty.
• Chili Oil: Mostly based off of Ramen Lord's recipe in the book. I highly recommend making this, even outside of using it for ramen. The Sichuan peppercorn flavor is incredible in it. One small question, any ideas on how to make this oil a more bright red color? Turned out pale orange for me. It's a small thing but was hoping it'd pop a bit more visually.

Toppings

I was mostly interested in nailing the broth, tare, and oils, so admittedly the toppings were more of an afterthought.

• Simple chashu (sous vide in marinade, chilled, sliced and torched to serve)
• Standard marinated egg
• Scallions
• Wood ear mushrooms
• Nori
• Garlic chips (pulled early in the mayu making process)

Noodles

Following the advice of many on this subreddit, the noodles were the only thing I didn't make from scratch. I got the Sun Noodle tonkotsu noodles, which were great. I found the serving size to be quite generous (maybe a bit too much for my liking, especially as I am more of a broth guy)—next time I would do 1.5 servings of noodles per portion. About half of my guests could not finish most of the noodles.

Again, huge thank you to this community for making this possible! I didn't expect it to turn out very well on my first try, but I can say this was the best bowl of tonkotsu ramen that I've ever had—all thanks to you!