Japanese Tokushima and Kyoto Ramen: Regional Schools Beyond the Big Four

Ingredients

• For the Tokushima chashu and tare
• 500 g pork belly, skin-on, rolled and tied
• 100 ml soy sauce
• 60 ml mirin
• 60 ml sake
• 1 tbsp sugar
• For the Tokushima tonkotsu base broth
• 1 kg pork bones, blanched and rinsed
• 2 litres water
• For the Tokushima bowl
• 4 eggs, very fresh; cracked raw into the bowl at service
• For the Kyoto chicken-kombu dashi
• 1 kg chicken carcasses or whole pieces, rinsed
• 20 g kombu, wiped clean
• 2 litres water
• For the Kyoto mild soy tare
• 80 ml soy sauce, mild; do not use dark or tamari
• For both bowls — noodles
• 400 g ramen noodles, alkaline wheat noodles; thicker cut for Kyoto style
• For both bowls — toppings
• 100 g menma (bamboo shoots), drained and rinsed
• 4 negi (green onion), finely sliced

Method

1. 1
   Braise the rolled pork belly in soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar with enough water to nearly submerge. Simmer, covered, turning occasionally, until the belly is tender throughout and the liquid has reduced to a glossy, deeply coloured, concentrated braising liquid. Remove the pork and allow it to firm before slicing. Do not discard the braising liquid — this is the Tokushima tare. The tare is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and carries an intense, sweet-salty depth.
2. 2
   Build the Tokushima tonkotsu base: blanch and rinse the pork bones, then cover with fresh cold water and bring to a vigorous boil. Maintain a rolling boil for the duration of cooking, skimming the surface as required. The broth is ready when it has turned opaque and white and carries a rich, porky depth on the nose.
3. 3
   Layer the Tokushima bowl: combine the tonkotsu base with the chashu braising liquid tare in the ratio that produces a deeply coloured, intensely savoury broth. This is the step on which the Tokushima bowl lives or dies — under-reduced tare or insufficient integration produces a flat, uncharacteristic soup; the braising liquid must be fully concentrated and stirred into a hot, vigorous base so that both elements are indistinguishable in the finished broth.
4. 4
   Build the Kyoto chicken-kombu dashi: steep the kombu in cold water, then add the chicken. Bring slowly to temperature without boiling hard. Maintain a gentle simmer throughout — do not allow a rolling boil, which would cloud the dashi and emulsify fat into the broth, changing its character. The dashi is ready when it is clear to lightly golden, carrying clean chicken sweetness and a background of sea mineral from the kombu.
5. 5
   Season the Kyoto dashi with mild soy tare to produce a pale, restrained broth. The Kyoto principle is depth without heaviness — the soy should be present but should not darken or dominate. Taste for balance; the broth should read as elegant and clean.
6. 6
   Cook the noodles in a separate pot of boiling unsalted water according to their thickness — thicker noodles for Kyoto bowls, calibrated to complement the lighter broth. Drain immediately and portion into warmed bowls. The noodles are ready when they carry a firm but yielding resistance at the centre.
7. 7
   Assemble. Pour the appropriate broth — Tokushima dark, Kyoto pale — over the noodles. Add sliced chashu, menma, and negi. For the Tokushima bowl, crack a very fresh raw egg directly into the hot broth at the moment of service; the broth must be hot enough to partially set the white on contact. The diner stirs the yolk into the soup, enriching and tempering the intense flavour. The egg is integral to the Tokushima bowl, not optional.