ICHIRAKU RAMEN INSPIRED BY NARUTO

For the Char Siu

Prepare the pork belly: Trim excess fat and meat from the pork belly to create an even, rectangular shape. Save trimmings for another dish.

Roll the pork belly: Lay 4 pieces of butcher's twine on your cutting board. Roll the pork belly tightly into a cylindrical shape, placing it seam down on the twine. Tie the twine tightly to secure the shape. (Optional: slap the pork for quality assurance purposes)

Prep the garlic, ginger root, and scallions.

Sear the pork: Heat your Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the rolled pork belly on all sides until the edges are golden brown.

Braise the pork: Add garlic, ginger, and scallions to the Dutch oven. Pour in shoyu, sake, water, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, place an otoshibuta, drop lid, or parchment paper lid on top, and braise for 2-3 hours until tender.

Chill and slice: Remove the pork from the braising liquid and allow it to cool.

Skim as much fat as you can from the braised liquid with paper towels and strain. Set aside the liquid for marinating the eggs.

Once the pork is chilled, slice into thin rounds.

For the Miso Tare

In a medium sauce pan, combine red, white, and mugi miso with ginger, garlic, shoyu, sake, mirin, togarashi, and sesame seeds.

Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly and the raw flavor of the ingredients has cooked off. Set aside for later.

For the Ajitama

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.

Use a needle or pin to carefully poke a small hole in the bottom of each egg to prevent cracking.

Drop the eggs into the boiling water and swirl gently to center the yolks. Boil for exactly 6.5 minutes.

Immediately transfer the eggs to an ice bath to cool.

Once cool, peel the eggs and place them in a small container with reserved braising liquid from the pork. Cover with a soaked paper towel to ensure even marination. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

For the Dashi (soup base)

Remove the heads from the niboshi.

In a medium container, combine headless niboshi and water to cover, about 2 liters. Set aside, allowing the fish to soak for 20-30 minutes.

While the Tonkatsu broth is simmering, transfer the niboshi mixture into a small pot and introduce kombu and dried shiitake mushroom to the pot. Let soak for 10-15 minutes until hydrated.

On gentle heat, add the dried bonito flakes to the niboshi, kombu, and mushroom mixture. Let simmer until the heat is permeated.

Once the heat has permeated, strain the dashi into a measuring cup. Set aside.

For the Tonkatsu Broth

In a large stock pot, combine pre-blanched pork bones, chicken carcasses, chicken feet, and pork fatback. Add water to cover and bring to a boil.

While the meat is in the pot, prep the vegetables for the broth. Chop the cabbage, onion, carrot, garlic, scallions, ginger root, apple, and potato.

Once the meat starts to fall off the bone and becomes a little tender, introduce the vegetables to the pot and let simmer for 2-3 hours or until broth is rich and flavorful.

When the ramen broth has thickened and reduced, taking on a milky color, use a whisk to break up remaining bones or vegetables for extra flavor. Fat should be emulsified within the liquid. If not, use an emulsifying blender to ensure the fat is fully incorporated.

Introduce the dashi to the broth and stir to incorporate.

Strain the broth into a container.

For the Toppings prep

Slice the scallions and narutomaki.

(optional) Brush the egg marinate on the sliced pork and use a blow torch to smoke and caramelize the pork slices.

For the Assembly

Cook the noodles: Squeeze and compress the noodles for springy form after cooking. Boil the ramen noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the bowls: In each serving bowl, quickly add a few tablespoons of miso tare. Ladle the hot broth over the tare and stir to combine.

Add noodles to the bowl, top with sliced char siu, a halved marinated egg, sliced scallions, menma, narutomaki, and nori sheets.

Serve immediately.