Pork Belly Ramen Recipe

Ramen noodles are one of the most popular dishes out there, and a big reason that they're so popular is that you can easily dress them up or down. One way to really take ramen over the top is with the addition of a tasty meat such as bacon or its close cousin pork belly. This latter meat, which we're using here, has also been in vogue in recent years. While pork belly is often cooked right in the soup, here recipe developer Catherine Brookes is roasting it and using it to top noodles cooked in soy and miso-flavored chicken broth. As she tells us, "This ramen is so full of delicious umami flavor," adding, "The crispy roasted pork belly really tops it off perfectly."

"All ingredients used here are quite typical for a ramen," Brookes says, and this includes the egg garnish. The ones used here are boiled eggs as opposed to ramen eggs since they're not marinated, although you could certainly take that additional step if you wanted. Brookes does say, though, that the eggs can be cooked to any level of doneness you like, ranging from a medium-boiled one of about 7 minutes to a hard-boiled one cooked for 10 minutes or so.

In order to make pork belly ramen, you will, of course, need pork belly. You'll also be making a broth out of sesame oil, garlic, ginger, miso paste, soy sauce, chicken stock, mushrooms, carrots, and noodles. As a final touch, the ramen bowls will be topped off with boiled eggs and green onions.

As the first step, set the oven to 350 F. As it heats, prepare the pork belly by patting it dry with a paper towel, then sprinkling it all over with salt. Rub the salt into the skin, then, when the oven is hot enough, cook the pork belly for an hour. At this point, turn the temperature up to 450 F and cook it for half an hour longer. After the pork is done cooking, let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing it.

Pour the sesame oil into a frying pan and heat it over medium, then fry the garlic and ginger for a minute. As Brookes cautions, "Be sure to stir constantly to prevent it from burning, as otherwise this may give a bitter taste." Stir in the soy sauce along with the miso paste, stock, mushrooms, and carrots and wait for the soup to boil. Once it does, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook it for 4 minutes. At this point, add the noodles and cook those for 3 minutes.

Take the solid stuff (the noodles, carrots, and mushrooms) out of the soup and divide these between four bowls, then pour the broth over the top. Slice the pork and put the meat on top of the noodles, followed by two egg halves per bowl as well as ¼ of the green onions. If you have sesame seeds on hand, you can sprinkle some of those in, as well.

While Brookes does say that leftovers can be refrigerated for 3 days, you'd do best to separate the noodles from the broth before storing them, and also take out the eggs and store those separately, as well. The sliced meat can go in with the noodles. You can then reheat the components together or separately when you want a second bowl of ramen.