Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a bowl of ramen. The warmth of the broth; the texture of the noodles, the egg, and the meat; the spices and flavors that infuse the dish…they all just make me happy!

The only ramen that I have ever made was the typical supermarket pre-packaged bowl of noodles that came with the little spice packet that all college students throughout time have lived on. It was time to conquer this recipe. This is not a complex recipe per se. It does take some time. As somebody must have said in the past, “Anything worth having, is worth the time and effort it takes to get er done!”

What is Chashu

I first had to make a decision on how to make the “Chashu”. The chashu is that melt in your mouth perfect tasting pork that sits on top of your bowl of ramen. During my research, I found two cuts of pork that worked for this dish. The typical cut of pork used is pork belly. The other cut I was knowledgeable of, but not in regards to ramen. This is the “money muscle” from a pork butt. I have been smoking meats for BBQ for many years and knew how to treat this part of the pork butt. The pork butt is well-marbled and by cooking this cut slow and over a low heat over time it will become quite tender and flavorful.

***“Money Muscle***” from Pork Butt and ***Pork Belly***

Which Cut of Pork Should We Use

I decided to try cooking both cuts of meat in order to compare the final taste of my chashu. Sometimes you may not find the perfect cut to use so it’s nice to have alternatives. You will have a lot of pork butt left over after you remove the money muscle. That’s ok because you can use it for other dishes like a Mexican stew, chili, or BBQ pulled pork.

Tied up my pork and placed them in my sous vide for 20 hours

How to Cook My Chashu

I decided to cook my chashu using my sous vide to ensure achieving maximum tenderness. The sous vide is the perfect tool to cook the pork. It can be set up to hold your cooking temperature for long periods of time. It won’t overcook and you won’t have to sit and watch it. The only potential issue is that you have to be aware of your water level to make sure it does not evaporate and get too low.

Other Ingredients and Cooking Techniques

The pressure cooker option that is on many of these one-pot appliances was my method to produce a flavorful broth that did not have to cook for 8 hours or more.

**Ingredients that went into my one-pot pressure cooker**

In addition to using pork hocks in my broth, I also wanted to use chicken bones. So in addition to the added chicken broth, I added rotisserie chicken bones that I froze and saved from some previous meals. Another option is to take some chicken wings and/or chicken feet and barely air fry them until they get some color to them. They contain a lot of collagen that will bring some great flavor to the broth. They can then be added to the other ingredients that will go into the pressure cooker.

**Some of the ingredients for my ramen**

This experiment was a definite success. Try not to get turned off by the length of the recipe. There’s a lot of little pieces to this recipe that require attention. There are multiple appliances that we are using to prepare the dish (pressure cooker, sous vide, and air fryer.) Once you read through the recipe you will notice there is nothing complex; just a few pieces to the recipe that require separate attention. Many of these recipe parts can be prepared beforehand. All you have to do is add them to your bowl as you serve. I am sure after cooking this ramen you will think it is the best ramen ever! Please subscribe to my food blog and comment as to how your ramen turned out. As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!

Chashu Pork Ramen

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Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hours

minutes

Ingredients

Chashu Ingredients – (Sous Vide)
2 lb 2 Pork belly, slab
1/4 cup 1/4 Mirin
1/4 cup 1/4 Sake
1/4 cup 1/4 Mushroom soy sauce
Broth
32 oz 32 Chicken broth
Bones from a rotisserie chicken, or 1 lb of chicken wings (roasted in an air fryer)
4 4 Pork hock slices, unsmoked
1 1 Onion, 1/2 moon slices
2 Inch knob 2 Ginger, sliced
1 Head 1 of Garlic, smashed
1/2 cup 1/2 Sake
1/2 cup 1/2 Mirin
1/2 cup 1/2 Mushroom soy sauce
48 oz 48 Water
Liquid from the cooked chashu
2 slices 2 Kombu
Added Protein – Optional
1 lb 1 Pork, ground
6 oz 6 Shiitaki mushrooms sliced
1/4 cup 1/4 Mushroom soy sauce
1/4 cup 1/4 Mirin
1/4 cup 1/4 Dry Sake
Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp Sauce, to taste or
chili oil
Egg Garnish
2-4 2-4 Extra large eggs
1/4 cup 1/4 Mirin
1/4 cup 1/4 Sake
1/4 cup 1/4 Mushroom soy sauce
Additional Garnish
2 Stalks 2 Scallions, thinly sliced
2 2 Baby bok choy, sliced in half
Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp Sauce or chili oil, to taste

Directions

Making the Chashu
The process of cooking the chashu should take place the day before you intend to eat the ramen. It will take 20 hours to cook in the sous vide.

First, trim off any large pieces of fat off your pork. I decided to leave the skin on the pork belly. It will become very tender and will melt in your mouth due to the extended cooking time.
Tie up your pork in order for your Chashu to cook in a consistent manner and to help provide a better plate presentation.
Add all Chashu ingredients into a vacuum bag and place in your sous vide. You can use a ziplock bag if you don’t have a vacuum sealer. Slowly drop the bag into your sous vide and seal it as the top of the bag gets near the water.
Set up your sous vide to cook for 20 – 24 hours at 155°. (Check note below on alternative method for cooking chashu.)
Pull your chashu out of the sous vide and place in the fridge to cool. Place the juices from cooked pork into the One- Pot that you are using to make your broth.
When ramen is ready to serve, slice off the amount of chashu needed and sear in a small sauté pan with a quarter cup of broth added. Pull from the pan when the slices are nicely browned. Ready to serve!
Making the Soft Egg
While the chashu is cooking, let’s prepare the soft egg.
Fill a large bowl with ice and water to cool off your eggs to stop the cooking process when they are done.
Fill a small pot with water. Set heat to medium-high and bring your water to a high simmer / low boil.
Slowly place your eggs into the pot and cook exactly 6 1/2 minutes. When done, place eggs in your ice bath to stop the cooking process. This will produce a soft jammy yolk for your ramen.
After eggs have cooled off, gently remove the shell from the egg and place the egg into a small bowl. Add remaining egg ingredients into the bowl with the eggs. Let the eggs marinate overnight in the refrigerator or for a minimum of 2 hours.
When your ramen is ready to serve, cut your eggs in half. When you add the egg to your bowl, the heat from the broth will bring your egg to a serving temperature.
Making the Broth
You can start the process of cooking the broth when the chashu has completed cooking and has cooled off.
To bring some additional flavor to the broth, you can cook your wings in your air fryer for about 10 minutes. Then place in your One-Pot with the rest of the broth ingredients. We are just slightly cooking the wings. We don’t want to lose and leave all the great collagen and fat flavors in the air fryer.
Take your onion and slice in half. Make thin slices from the two halves and sauté the onions until nicely caramelized. Add to your One-Pot
Add all the other ingredients for the broth into your One-Pot. Don’t forget to add the liquid in your vacuum bags that you used to cook your chashu. That liquid will add great flavor to your broth!
Set up your One-Pot to pressure cook the broth for 90 minutes. When complete, strain the broth into a large serving bowl. Ready to serve!
Optional: Making the Spicy Ground Pork Mixture
If you would like to add some additional protein to your ramen and would like to spice it up, you can add the spicy pork mixture to the recipe. This recipe will still be awesome if you decide not to add the spicy pork mixture to your ramen.
Sauté the ground pork and the shiitake mushrooms. After they start to brown, add remaining ingredients to the ground pork mixture. Taste your mixture and add additional seasonings to taste (i.e. more soy, chili sauce).
Ready to serve!
Finishing Touches – Making the Noodles and Bok Choy
Fill a small pot with water and set over medium-high heat to boil. Add your ramen noodles and cook per the instructions on the bag. Do not overcook your noodles. You definitely want them with some texture and bite to them. It’s hard to slurp a very soft noodle! Ready to serve!
Slice your baby bok choy in half.
Place in sauté pan and cook over low-medium heat. Add just enough broth to lightly cook the bok choy so it is fork-tender. Ready to serve!
Garnish Your Bowl
Optional: Add the spicy ground pork mixture to your bowl.
Add your noodles on top of the pork mixture.
Add your broth.
Add your chashu, a slice of your baby bok choy, 1/2 of one egg, and a sprinkle of sliced scallions.
Optional: If you desire a little more heat, drizzle some chili oil or add some other variation of hot sauce. (Sriracha, Sambal Olek, Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp Sauce)
Enjoy!!

Notes

If you don’t have a sous vide, you can still make great ramen by braising your chashu. For the liquid, add 1 cup each of mirin, mushroom soy sauce, sake, and water. Add some shallots, garlic, and green onions to the pot. Make sure the liquid only goes half way up the side of the pork. Set your oven to 275° and cook until the chashu is fork tender. (a minimum of 4 hours). Let your chashu cool off in the refrigerator until totally cooled. It will be easier to slice. Follow remaining instructions as stated above.