Alternative names | Hakata ramen |
---|---|
Type | Noodle soup |
Place of origin | Japan |
Region or state | Fukuoka |
Created by | Tokio Miyamoto |
Invented | 1937 |
Main ingredients | |
Variations | Kagoshima ramen |
Tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン) is a ramen dish that originated in Kurume,[1]<[2][3] Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and is a specialty dish on the island of Kyushu.
The broth for tonkotsu ramen is based on pork bones, which is what the word tonkotsu (豚骨/とんこつ) means in Japanese.[4][1][5] It is prepared by boiling the bones in water for up to eighteen hours, at which point the soup becomes cloudy in appearance.[4][1][2] Additional broth ingredients can include onion, garlic, spring onions, ginger, pork back fat, pig's trotters, oil, and chicken carcass.[4] The dish is traditionally topped with chāshū (sliced pork belly), and additional ingredients can include kombu, kikurage, shōyu, chili bean paste, and sesame seeds.[4][1]
The traditional preparation method for tonkotsu ramen is for the noodles to be hard in the center.[2] Some ramen shops allow customers to select the level of firmness, including futsu for regular or standard, harigane for very hard, barikata for al dente, and yawamen for soft.[2] Some restaurants also provide a second order of noodles if requested by the customer, in a system referred to as kaedama.[2]