Momofuku Ramen 2.0

• 1 batch Ramen Broth 2.0
• 1/4 batch Tare 2.0
• 5-6 g kosher salt
• 5 oz warm, rendered Benton’s bacon fat (see the Tare 2.0 recipe)

RAMEN BROTH 2.0

• 2 oz kombu
• 1 1/4 gallon water
• 1 1/2 oz dried shiitakes, ground to a powder
• 5 lbs chicken backs and necks
• + the trimmings (roots and whites) of 1 bunch of scallions

TARE 2.0

• 1 chicken back
• 1/2 C sake
• 1/2 C mirin
• 1 C usukuchi soy
• 1/3 lb Benton’s bacon, or another very smoky substitute

MAKE THE RAMEN BROTH

1. 1 In a large stockpot, heat the water to 150°F. Turn off the heat and steep the kombu in it for 1 hour.
2. 2 Remove and discard the kombu and add the chicken. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim off the scum that rises to the top during the first 15 minutes of simmering. Add the pulverized shiitakes, adjust the heat so the broth simmers gently—the occasional bubble rising to the top, but nothing violent—and let it go for 5 hours.
3. 3 Strain the broth and chill. At Momofuku, we skim the stock before it’s strained. You can do that, or strain, chill, and then skim. Or leave it as is—the broth will be cloudier, but not undelicious because of it. We also reduce the finished broth by half, so it’s easier to store and transfer. To serve, we mix 3 parts reduced stock with 7 parts tap water. If you choose not to reduce your stock, add 2 1/2 quarts of water to the broth before serving.
4. MAKE THE TARE
5. 1 Roast the chicken back in the saucepan you’ll later make the tare in. Start it out in a low oven (250°F), so it renders out some fat to cook in. (Or add a tiny bit of oil to the pan and get it going over a medium-high burner.) Crank the oven up to 400°F after a couple minutes. In 20 minutes or thereabouts, with the occasional prod or flip, you should have a deeply ambered chicken back to work with. If it’s not somewhere in the mahogany spectrum, keep cooking it until you get there.
6. 2 Remove the chicken back from the pan, briefly, then deglaze the pan with the sake. Scrape the pan to “release the fond,” or, more plainly, to get all the tasty brown bits off the bottom. Return the chicken to the pan, set it over a medium-hot stove, and add the remaining ingredients.
7. 3 Lower the heat to get the contents of the pot to reach the barest of simmers. Keep it there for an hour and a half. The idea is not reduction, but infusion: you want to get all the bacon and roasted-chicken flavor into the liquid.
8. 4 Strain the meat and bone out of the tare and discard them; put the tare in the fridge to chill. When the fat solidifies and rises to the top, remove it; it can be used (along with additional, supplemental bacon fat) to finish bowls of soup. The tare is now ready to use.
9. TO FINISH:
10. 1 Season the broth with tare and salt to taste. Divide the seasoned broth between five warmed bowls.
11. 2 Spoon a little bit of bacon fat into each bowl. Serve with whatever accompaniments you want. Fresh alkaline noodles and a pile of slow-cooked pork isn’t a bad place to start.