SHOYU RAMEN RECIPES

Steps:

• You can find all the Asian ingredients listed here at Asian markets, in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets, and online. Look in the refrigerated section of Asian markets for fresh noodles. Ask your butcher for chicken necks and backs.
• Two days ahead: For the dashi, combine kombu and 4 quarts 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.
• 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 for round, compact slices.)
• Heat oil in a 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, carrots, garlic, ginger, and bonito flakes. Remove kombu from 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, 2½–3 hours.
• Remove pork shoulder from stock and let cool. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill until ready to use. (Chilling pork will make meat 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.
• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Carefully add eggs one at a time and boil gently for 7 minutes. (Egg yolks 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 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 6 deep bowls. Top with sliced pork, placing it off to one side. Add tare to 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 pork. Halve eggs and place next to menma. Place a small pile of sliced scallions next to egg. Tuck half a sheet of nori between side of 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 eggs covered in cool water. Cover and chill.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring chicken broth to a bare simmer. Remove from heat and let cool 2 minutes. Add in mushrooms and kombu (kelp) and let steep 5 minutes. Then, add in bonito and let steep 5 more minutes. Strain and save solids for nitamago process and serving. Store dashi chilled, up to 1 week. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring all ingredients except pork to a low simmer and reduce heat to low. Meanwhile, in another medium pot over medium heat, bring pork and 6 cups water to a low simmer. Drain immediately and gently rinse pork.  Place pork in tare pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and continue to cook on low until tender, turning pork occasionally, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes, then strain and reserve liquid for serving. Refrigerate pork and remaining liquid separately. Slice pork before serving, lightly torched, if desired. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring 6 cups water to a rolling boil. Carefully prick rounded bottoms of each egg with a pin. Gently lower eggs into pot with a slotted spoon, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer eggs for 6 minutes. Drain. Transfer eggs to an ice bath and let rest for 5 minutes. Thoroughly crack eggshells very gently, knocking one egg against another, then return to ice bath for 10 more minutes. Peel carefully. Place eggs in a medium bowl and pour reserved pork-marinade liquid over. Weigh down eggs with reserved spent kombu (kelp) to fully immerse in liquid. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, up to 12 hours. In a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat, simmer garlic in oil until tender and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Keep the heat level low enough to avoid frying the garlic. Remove from heat and immediately stir in chili. Let rest 2 minutes, then stir in sesame.  Once completely cool, store refrigerated in a closed container for up to 2 weeks. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook ramen, stirring with tongs or chopsticks until al dente, about 1 minute. (If using instant ramen, discard seasoning packet and follow packet instructions to cook until al dente.) Drain well. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm dashi and shiitake until barely simmering. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat. Set shiitake aside. Add dashi, tare, and noodles to serving bowl. Top with chashu, nitamago, shiitake, green onion, a drizzle of la-yu, and nori, if using.