Welcome to the first real ramen experiment of the fall, Tonkotsu Experiment 006! Why 006? Because it sounds cooler. And because it’s the sixth Tonkotsu I’ve attempted. After multiple failures throughout last year, this one ended up being a surprising success, given that I made it in just under an hour and a half.
Over the past week, I’ve been in New York on business. I know I don’t talk about my actual day job on this blog, and that’s not going to change here, but I will say that it was a long, grueling, but ultimately rewarding few days. However, that’s not all that happened. I decided that while I was back in the city, I would eat as much ramen as possible. Although I didn’t get anywhere near the amount I wanted, and I didn’t get to the noodle shops I really wanted to, I did have some phenomenal ramen while in the Big Apple.
Well, at least it was edible this time… Nate here with my second tonkotsu experiment. While not a complete failure like last time (we were able to have it for dinner without feeling sick), I wouldn’t call this a complete success either. There was a mild tonkotsu flavor back there somewhere, but it was still heavy, and dark. Not that milky white tonkotsu is known for.
I’ve made plenty of shoyu batches over the years, but I’ve never made my other favorite kind of broth: tonkotsu. Harder to find in years past (it wasn’t until the last five years or so that tonkotsu became readily available in Charlotte), tonkotsu is a rich, pale white pork broth that is savory and soulful. It’s Hsien’s favorite kind of ramen, and my second favorite, so in preparation for our eventual RamenCon, I wanted to try my hand at it. This first batch was a complete and utter failure in flavor, look, and design, but I learned a lot in the process for batch 2.
We went by Hatoya, our favored Japanese grocer, today to re-up on some supplies. Sadly, they were out of Sun Tonkotsu and Pocari Sweat, but they did have some new pre-made dashi bottles I’d like to try. They also finally got in refrigerated noodles on their own, so those’ll be fun to try as well!
Sun continues dominating the packaged ramen market with its Tonkotsu offering. I, personally, have always preferred Shoyu over Tonkotsu in restaurants and at stands. However, in the case of Sun’s offering, I actually prefer the Tonkotsu. So, I guess I lied in my last review – Shoyu is no longer the single best pre-packaged ramen. Sun actually managed to top themselves.