Tonkotsu ramen

Tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン) is a ramen dish that originated in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, and it is a speciality dish in both Fukuoka (where it is referred to as Hakata ramen) and Kyushu.

The broth for tonkotsu ramen is based on pork bones, and tonkotsu (豚骨/とんこつ) in Japanese means "pork bones". The soup broth is prepared by boiling the bones in water for a significant amount of time, up to eighteen hours, and the broth is typically cloudy in appearance. Additional broth ingredients can include onion, garlic, spring onions, ginger, pork back fat, pig's trotters, oil and chicken carcasses. The dish is traditionally topped with chāshū (sliced pork belly), and additional ingredients can include kombu, kikurage, shōyu, chili bean paste, sesame seeds and others.

The traditional preparation method for the ramen noodles used in tonkotsu ramen is for the noodles to be hard in the center. Some ramen shops allow customers to select the level of firmness for the noodles, including futsu for regular or standard, harigane for very hard, barikata for al dente and yawamen for soft. Some restaurants also provide a second order of noodles if requested by the customer, in a system referred to as kaedama.

History
Tonkotsu ramen was invented in December 1937 by Tokio Miyamoto at his yatai originated in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, which is located on the northern shore of Kyushu island in Japan. The dish was further refined to its milky appearance by Katsumi Sugino when he accidentally overcooked his origin broth. In Fukuoka, the dish is often referred to as Hakata ramen (ラーメン) as Hakata is the historical name of central Fukuoka, but can also be called "tonkotsu ramen". The dish is prepared in ramen shops in all other regions of Japan. Tonkotsu ramen was originally prepared as an affordable and easily prepared fast food for laborers at fish markets. In contemporary times, tonkotsu ramen is renowned for the significant time it can take to prepare a proper version of the dish.