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Easy Pork Belly Ramen|Weston Table

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Easy Pork Belly Ramen

Places to eat ramen are popping up all over America. For good reason, this Japanese staple with roots in Chinese wheat noodles is adaptable, nourishing, and best of all comforting to eat. The greatest impediment to making steaming bowls of ramen at home is its foundation: a hearty, perfectly savory and complex broth. Unwilling to watch a pot simmer for 24 to 72 hours, we sought a broth that could satisfy the need for savory balance without being too salty or lacking depth and a bowl ready to be served in under one hour. After many trials we found a pork ramen base we can eat over and over and turn into a quick lunch or weeknight dinner that both children and adults slurp with delight. There are so many opportunities to make this recipe your own with vegetables and toppings and spicy condiments.  There is a long list of ingredients, most are found in a well stocked pantry. Nearly all may be left out or substituted without detriment. Experimenting is half the fun in making ramen at home. 

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cuisine Asian
difficulty Easy
season Year Round
serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pork belly, rind and huge chunks of fat removed
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon white miso
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 bottle Tsuki Pork Shank Professional Ramen Base
  • 8 ounces ramen noodles
  • 1 baby bok choy, halved
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 scallion, sliced on the bias 1/4" thick
  • 16 cilantro leaves
  • 1 fresno chili, sliced as thinly as possible
  • 3 tablespoons pickled red onion
  • 2 tablespoons nori, shredded
  • Condiments: Pickled ginger slices, black sesame seeds, togarashi, sriracha

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in the pork belly and boil for 30 minutes. Remove, pat dry, and cut into 1/2" cubes (remove any additional excess fat).
  2. In the same pot the pork was boiled in, add the bok choy and par boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and plunge into an ice water bath. Pat dry and set aside.
  3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  4. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, miso paste, red chili flakes, and sesame oil.
  5. Toss the cubes of pork into the soy sauce mix and coat evenly. Place the cubes of pork on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until caramelized, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside until ready to serve.
  6. Boil the noodles for 1 minute less than package instructions, drain, and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.
  7. Slice the boiled eggs in two and carefully set aside (don't upset the still jammy yolk).
  8. Boil the ramen base and divide into two bowls. Divide the pork ramen and add the cubes to the ramen and broth. Add the bok choy to one side and the jammy eggs to the other. Make a small pile in the center of the bowl of the shredded nori, pickled onions, and a few fresno pepper slices. Sprinkle the cilantro leaves over the bowl. Pass the other condiments at the table.

Kitchen Notes

It is best to add the noodles at the last minute as they will cook in the boiling hot broth and over cooked noodles are lifeless and soggy. Use kitchen shears to cut the nori. Seared mushrooms are an awesome substitution for the pork belly. Sear in a dry pan and just before they are done, add a splash of soy sauce to them.
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