INGREDIENTS:
Kombu and Tare
2 pc Kombu, dried
1/2 cup Soy Sauce, reduced sodium
2 Tbs Dry Sake
1 Tbs Mirin
Pork and Stock
1 1/2 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder
tt Kosher Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
2 lbs Chicken Necks, Backs or Wings
2 lb Pork Spareribs
2 bc Scallions, chopped
2 ea Carrots, peeled, cut into pieces
1 hd Garlic, halved horizontally
1 pc Garlic, peeled, sliced
1/4 cup Bonito Flakes
Ramen and Garnishes
3 lg Eggs
6 pk 5 oz Thin and Wavy Ramen Noodles, Fresh (or six 3-oz packages dried)
1/2 cup Menma (fermented bamboo shoots)
6 ea Scallions, sliced thinly
3 ea Toasted Nori Sheets, torn in half
tt Chili Oil, Toasted Sesame Oil and Shichimi Togarashi (for serving)
DIRECTIONS:
Kombu Dashi and Tare
Two Days Ahead: For the dashi, combine kombu and 4 quarts of cold water in a large bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours. For the tare, combine soy sauce, sake, and mirin in a small bowl; cover and chill.
Pork and Stock
One Day Ahead: Season pork shoulder with salt and pepper. Roll up and tie with kitchen twine at 2″ intervals. (This helps keep the meat intact while cooking and makes round, compact slices.)
Heat oil in large heavy pot (at least 8 quarts) over medium-high heat. Cook pork shoulder turning until brown all over, 10-12 minutes. Add chicken, spareribs, scallions, garlic, ginger and bonito flakes. Remove kombu from the dashi; discard. Add as much kombu dashi as will fit in pot once liquid is boiling (reserve remaining dashi.) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, skimming the surface occasionally and adding remaining dashi as liquid reduces, until pork shoulder is tender and stock has reduced to about 2 quarts, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Remove pork shoulder from the stock and let cool. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill until ready to use. (Chilling pork will make it easier to slice.) Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot or a large bowl or container; discard solids (including ribs and chicken.) Cover and chill.
Ramen and Garnishes
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Carefully add eggs one at a time and boil gently for 7 minutes. (Egg yolk should be shiny yellow and almost jammy; egg white should be just set.) Drain eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking; let cool. Peel; set aside.
Remove string and thinly slice pork; cover and set aside.
When ready to serve, bring stock to a simmer; it should be very hot. At the same time, cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to the package directions until al dente; drain (no need to salt the water, as ramen noodles contain more salt than pasta.)
Just before serving, divide noodles among six deep bowls. Top with sliced pork, placing it off to the side. Add tare to the hot stock and ladle over pork to warm through (stock should come up just to the level of the noodles.)
Place a small pile of menma next to the pork. Halve eggs and place next to the menma. Place a small pile of sliced scallions next to the egg. Tuck half sheet of nori between the side of the bowl and noodles so it’s just poking out.
Serve ramen with chili oil, sesame oil and shichimi togarashi.
Do Ahead: Eggs can be cooked 1 day ahead. Keep unpeeled covered in cool water. Cover and chill.
Hellum's Kitchen 