Description
This Braised Pork Belly Miso Ramen is a thing of delicious wonder, friends. We’ll start with slices of pork belly seared and then braised until extra tender. Then we move onto an easy broth situation that comes together quickly with tons of umami-filled flavor. Bring it all together and top it with ramen favorites like soft-boiled eggs, bean sprouts, scallions, a fish cake, and nori. It’s the best homemade ramen!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¾ lb fully-cooked or fresh pork belly, sliced into 1-inch-thick slices- (see notes for using fresh pork belly)
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup mirin
- 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon five spice powder
For ramen broth & serving:
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- 4 bricks/servings ramen noodles (we love Sun Noodle!)
- Soft-boiled eggs, chopped scallions, sliced fish cakes, bean sprouts, nori (dried seaweed) & sesame seeds- for ramen topping, as desired.
Instructions
- Sear pork belly. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil. When hot, gently swirl the skillet around to evenly coat the bottom. Working in batches, careful not to overcrowd, add a few pork belly slices into the skillet. Cook the pork until a deep brown sear forms, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer the browned pork onto a clean plate/small baking sheet and repeat the process until all the pork is browned. Then set the browned pork belly slices aside and reduce the heat to medium.
- Build the braise. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste until nice and fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, and five spice powder- stirring until well combined. Then add the sliced pork belly back into the skillet along with any residual juices. Add in a little water (about ⅓ – ½ cup) just until the slices are nearly submerged under the liquid.
- Braise pork. Reduce the heat to low and let the pork belly braise for 30-45 minutes until extra tender- checking the pork every so often to flip the slices for even cooking.
- Prep ramen & broth boils. About 15 minutes before the pork is done, let’s work on the ramen prep + broth, and do a bit of multitasking. On a separate burner, bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a stock pot for the noodles. On another burner, bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. In a medium bowl, combine the miso paste and ½ cup water, stirring to combine until the miso paste has fully dissolved. Then add the miso liquid into the pot with the broth and stir well to combine. Let the broth simmer while you boil the ramen noodles.
- Finish ramen. Boil ramen noodles in the stock pot of water according to your package directions- careful not to overcook. Then strain the noodles and place them into serving bowls. Back to the pork belly, transfer braised pork slices onto a plate/serving platter- do not discard braising liquid. Add about ⅓ cup (or more) of the braising liquid into the simmering broth, stir to fully combine, then remove from heat.
- Assembly & serving. Ladle the desired amount of broth into the serving bowls of ramen and briefly toss noodles to combine with the broth. Then set up a little ramen assembly line and top bowls of ramen with sliced pork belly, soft-boiled eggs, chopped scallions, sliced fish cake, bean sprouts, nori, and sesame seeds- as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Fresh pork belly: When using fresh pork belly, I recommend boiling the fresh pork first. Simply fill a large pot with water and add the fresh pork belly. Boil for about 30-45 minutes and then drain. This step is a good measure to render out some of the fat, remove any impurities, and tenderize the meat. Then slice pork belly and proceed with the recipe as directed.
- Soy sauce eggs: Gently lower 4 cold eggs (straight from the fridge) into a pot of boiling water and boil for 6-7 minutes. Then transfer the eggs to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Carefully peel off the shells and place the eggs into a ziplock bag. Add in ⅓ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup mirin, and 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (for a deeper color- optional). Then seal the bag and place the bag into a small container for stabilization and cover. Keep eggs stored in the fridge to marinate for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. Discard (or save to re-use!) marination liquid, slice eggs in half, and top warm bowl of ramen with soy sauce marinated eggs.
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.