Browse Techniques

Momofuku's tare-based ramen broth system — a base broth flavoured at service by a concentrated tare — produces ramen of restaurant complexity accessible to the home cook who understands the separation principle: the broth carries body and base umami; the tare carries concentrated seasoning and specific flavour character; they are combined only at service. This separation is the key to ramen scalability and to the ability to produce multiple flavour profiles from a single broth.

Chang's kimchi — specifically his napa cabbage kimchi adapted for a restaurant context — demonstrates the essential fermentation parameters: the salt percentage for effective Lactobacillus activity, the specific Korean chilli (gochugaru) that produces kimchi's colour and heat, and the fish sauce and fermented shrimp (jeot-gal) that provide the animal-protein umami base unavailable from vegetables alone.

Korean fried chicken — the specific Korean technique of double-frying chicken pieces to produce a shatteringly thin, crispy shell — achieves a texture categorically different from American fried chicken. The first fry at a lower temperature (165°C) cooks the chicken through; the second fry at a higher temperature (185°C) produces the rapid dehydration of the exterior coating that creates the ultra-thin, glass-like crust.

Bossam — pork shoulder slowly simmered in an aromatic liquid, then served in fresh cabbage leaves with kimchi, oysters, and ganjang (soy sauce) — demonstrates the Korean technique of complete collagen conversion through gentle simmering rather than dry-heat roasting. The boiled pork's specific yielding, silky texture — different from roasted or braised pork — comes from the water-based cooking environment, which never allows the surface to reach Maillard temperatures.

Chang's high-heat roast chicken — a small chicken (1.5kg) roasted at 260°C for 35–40 minutes with no basting, no butter under the skin, no trussing — produces a different result from Robuchon's technique (CR-04) or Hazan's moderate-heat method. The extremely high heat produces a powerfully bronzed, crackling-crispy skin in a shorter time, with a juicier interior (the rapid cooking prevents moisture loss). The technique requires a small bird — large birds are not appropriate for 260°C.

The Momofuku soft egg — a 6-minute boiled egg, peeled, then marinated in a soy-mirin mixture for 1–4 hours — produces an egg with a barely-set white and a jammy, slightly fudgy yolk, its exterior seasoned throughout with the soy marinade. The technique applies Japanese seasoning logic (the soy marinade is osmotically absorbed into the outer layers of the white) to the same barely-set egg principle as onsen tamago (TJ-07).

Chang's approach to noodles — both in ramen and in the ssam bar preparations — addresses the treatment of noodles after cooking that separates professional from home results: the noodle after boiling must be handled to preserve its texture in the bowl.

Momofuku's pork belly — cured overnight in salt and sugar, then slow-roasted until completely tender, then cooled, sliced, and pan-seared to order — applies the same two-stage cooking logic as Sichuan fragrant crispy duck (FD-89): a gentle, thorough first cook that converts collagen without producing any external texture, followed by a rapid, high-heat second cook that produces the exterior character.