Pork Belly Ramen Recipe

Prepare Pork

Pat the pork belly dry with paper towels. Season all over with kosher salt and black pepper. Let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Sear

Heat neutral oil in a heavy, oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the pork belly, fat side down first, and sear 3–4 minutes per side until deeply browned. Remove pork and set aside.

Braise

Lower heat to medium. Add smashed garlic, sliced ginger, and green onions to the pot; sauté 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Return pork to the pot. Pour in soy sauce, mirin, sake and 800 ml water — liquid should come halfway up the pork. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and transfer to a 150°C (300°F) oven, or keep on low burner with a lid. Braise for 2½–3 hours until fork-tender, turning the pork halfway through. Alternatively, braise slowly in a slow cooker on low for 6–8 hours.

Finish Pork

When tender, remove pork and strain braising liquid into a saucepan. Reduce the braising liquid over medium heat until slightly syrupy (about 10–15 minutes) to concentrate flavors; reserve 60–120 ml as finishing sauce for the ramen. For a charred finish (optional), slice pork into 1/2-inch thick pieces and quickly torch or sear slices in a hot skillet 30–60 seconds per side to caramelize before serving.

Make Stock

Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). If using bones, roast bones on a sheet pan 25–30 minutes until browned. In a large stockpot, combine roasted bones (or kombu + dried shiitake soaked for 30 minutes), onion, carrot, garlic, ginger and 2 L (2000 ml) water. Bring to a gentle boil, skim any scum, then lower to a simmer. Simmer uncovered 3–4 hours for bones (1 hour for kombu/shiitake), topping up water to keep ingredients submerged. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard solids. You should have roughly 1.5–2 L of clear, flavorful stock.

Prepare Miso Tare

In a small saucepan, combine white miso and red miso with 120 ml of the hot strained stock to loosen into a smooth paste. Add soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and sugar; warm gently over low heat just to integrate flavors — do not boil (boiling can make miso taste harsh). Taste and adjust the balance of sweet/salty/umami; set aside. This miso tare will be mixed into individual bowls to preserve fresh miso flavor.

Assemble Broth

Heat the strained stock to a gentle simmer. For each serving, place about 2–3 tbs (30–45 ml) of miso tare into the bottom of a ramen bowl, then ladle 480–500 ml of hot stock over the tare and whisk quickly to dissolve — adjust tare quantity per bowl to taste. Keep broth hot until serving.

Soft-Boiled Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago) - if making

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Gently lower room-temperature eggs and boil 6–6½ minutes for jammy yolks (for large eggs). Immediately transfer to an ice bath for 5 minutes. Peel carefully. Optional marinade: combine 60 ml soy sauce, 60 ml mirin and 60 ml water; submerge peeled eggs in marinade for 4–12 hours in the fridge.

Cook Noodles

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Cook fresh ramen noodles according to package instructions (usually 90 seconds to 2 minutes) until just tender. Drain well and briefly rinse under hot running water to remove excess starch (optional depending on noodle type).

Warm Toppings

While noodles cook, reheat braising sauce reserved earlier and warm bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and corn in a small pan or in the microwave so everything served hot.

Assemble Bowls

Place the miso-mixed hot broth into each serving bowl as described above. Add cooked noodles (about one serving per bowl). Arrange 2–3 slices of the braised pork belly on top, a halved soft-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, blanched bean sprouts, corn (if using), a sheet of nori tucked at the rim, and scatter sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Drizzle a little reserved braising reduction over the pork for extra gloss and flavor. Add chili oil or rayu if desired.

Serve

Serve immediately while broth and toppings are hot. Provide extra tare, chili oil and soy sauce at the table for adjustments. Leftover broth and pork store separately in the refrigerator up to 3 days (pork belly will keep longer if refrigerated in its braising liquid).