Shio Ramen Salt Broth Hakodate

Ingredients

• For the broth
• 1.5 kg chicken carcasses or bone-in chicken pieces, rinsed
• 200 g scallop shells, rinsed
• 150 g shrimp heads, rinsed
• 300 g clams, scrubbed
• 2 litres cold water
• For the shio-dare
• 40 g sea salt, high-quality natural sea salt; not iodised table salt
• 60 ml sake
• 30 ml mirin
• 10 g kombu, wiped clean with a damp cloth
• For the toriskin abura (chicken fat)
• 150 g chicken skin, excess fat reserved from broth carcasses
• For the noodles
• 400 g straight thin pale wheat ramen noodles, Hakodate-style; fresh or dried
• For the toppings
• 200 g char siu (braised pork belly or loin), sliced; prepared separately
• 80 g bamboo shoots (menma), sliced
• 2 negi (Japanese long onion), finely sliced on the diagonal
• 1 tsp yuzu zest, finely grated; added at the moment of serving

Method

1. 1
   Place the chicken carcasses in a large pot of cold water, bring to a boil, and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse the carcasses thoroughly under cold running water. Return to the cleaned pot with 2 litres of fresh cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, never a full boil. Add the scallop shells and shrimp heads. Simmer briefly — the stock is ready when it smells sweet, mineral, and clean, with no trace of murkiness or rank seafood note.
2. 2
   Add the clams to the simmering broth. Cook until all clams have opened. Remove and discard any that remain closed. Lift out the clams and all shells. Pass the entire broth through a fine-mesh strainer lined with muslin. The finished broth should be pale gold to nearly clear — this is where the dish lives or dies: a cloudy, grey, or dark broth cannot be corrected at this stage, and no tare will rescue a compromised stock.
3. 3
   Prepare the shio-dare. Combine the sake and mirin in a small saucepan and bring briefly to a simmer to burn off the raw alcohol. Add the kombu and allow it to steep off the heat for 10 minutes, then remove. Dissolve the sea salt fully into the warm liquid. The tare should taste intensely saline, delicate, and faintly sweet — with no dark colour whatsoever.
4. 4
   Render the toriskin abura. Place the chicken skin flat in a cold dry pan. Set over low heat and render slowly, pressing the skin flat, until it releases its fat and turns pale golden and crisp. Strain the rendered fat through a fine sieve into a small bowl. The fat should be pale yellow and translucent — it must carry no brown colour that would disturb the broth's clarity.
5. 5
   Cook the ramen noodles in a separate large pot of vigorously boiling unsalted water according to the noodle's specification, stirring immediately after adding to prevent clumping. Drain thoroughly. The noodles are done when they are just tender with a faint resistance at the centre — they must carry no raw flour taste.
6. 6
   To assemble: warm four deep bowls. Place a measured amount of shio-dare — approximately 25–30 ml — in each bowl. Ladle 350–400 ml of hot strained broth over the tare and stir once to combine without agitating. The broth must not deepen in colour. Add the drained noodles. Arrange sliced char siu, bamboo shoots, and negi on top. Finish with a small spoonful of toriskin abura and a pinch of yuzu zest. Serve immediately — shio ramen cools faster than heavier broths and must reach the table at once.