Tonkotsu Broth Recipe for a Pressure Cooker

Restaurant tonkotsu takes 12–18 hours at a rolling boil; a pressure cooker gets a Hong Kong kitchen most of the way in about 2½ hours, with a short hard boil at the end to emulsify. Open a window: the smell is strong, and that is normal.

Cooking hub: How to Make Ramen at Home in a Hong Kong Kitchen. Components: Anatomy of a Ramen Bowl. Site hub: Ramen in Hong Kong: The Complete Local Guide.

Makes about 2 litres (6 bowls). Time about 3 hours. Equipment: a 6-litre pressure cooker (stovetop or electric), a large bowl for soaking, a fine strainer. Bones from the wet market: 1.5 kg pork trotters (split) and 1 kg pork neck or back bones, plus 300 g chicken feet for extra gelatin.

🛒 1. Ingredients

• 1.5 kg pork trotters, split by the butcher
• 1 kg pork neck or back bones
• 300 g chicken feet (optional, more body)
• 1 onion, halved; 1 head garlic, halved; 5 cm ginger, sliced
• 2 spring onions
• Water to cover (about 3 litres)

🔥 2. Method

1. Soak bones in cold water for 1 hour, changing once, to draw out blood.
2. Blanch: cover with fresh water, bring to a hard boil for 10 minutes, drain, and scrub bones under running water to remove scum and dark bits. This step decides clarity of flavour.
3. Return bones to the cooker with aromatics and 3 litres water. Pressure-cook on high for 90 minutes (stovetop) or 120 minutes (electric). Natural release.
4. Remove the lid, break up the softened bones with a spoon, and boil hard, uncovered, for 20–30 minutes, stirring, until the liquid turns opaque white and reduces to about 2 litres. This hard boil is the emulsification step.
5. Strain through a fine sieve; press the solids. Skim only if a thick fat cap bothers you — some fat is the point.
6. Season per bowl with shio or shoyu tare (about 30 ml per 350 ml broth), not in the pot. Tare recipes are in shoyu and shio tare for home ramen.

🍜 3. Building the bowl

Thin straight noodles, cooked firm (see ramen noodles), chashu (recipe), kikurage, spring onion, sesame and pickled ginger; the style is explained in tonkotsu ramen and Hakata ramen.

🧊 4. Storage

Cool quickly in an ice bath, refrigerate within two hours, and use within three days or freeze flat (how to freeze ramen broth). It sets to a firm jelly when cold; that is the gelatin. The chicken version is faster: chicken paitan in 90 minutes.

Pressure cookers and bones. Never fill past the maximum line, never force the lid, and let the pressure release naturally — bone broth foams. Cool the broth fast; a 2-litre pot left on the hob overnight is a food-safety risk, not a “long simmer”. See ramen food safety.

❓ FAQ

Why is my broth grey, not white? Not enough hard boiling at the end, or too much fat skimmed; boil uncovered and stir.

Can I skip blanching? You can, but the broth will taste muddier and smell stronger.

How salty should the pot be? Unsalted; all seasoning comes from tare in the bowl.