Tonkotsu Broth

also called tonkotsu · tonkotsu broth · 豚骨 · とんこつ · pork bone broth · white pork broth · Hakata broth · ramen broth · milky pork broth

The table

A shop boils this 12 to 18 hours and tops the pot up as it goes; this is the one-off home version — 8 hours, one pot, and genuinely white.
2 lb(900 g; split lengthways by the butcher)pork trottersparboil 30 min, then scrub every boneboil hard 8 hr, topping the water upstir the aromatics in, last hourstrain, pressing the softened marrow through
2 lb(900 g)pork neck bones
6 oz(170 g)pork fatback
5 qt(4.7 L)cold water
6 qt(5.7 L)water
1 large(halved)yellow onion
1 head(halved across)garlic
2 in(sliced)fresh ginger
4 stalksscallion greens
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.11 things to get out.

Pans and tools

Before anything else

2parboil 30 min, then scrub every bone

3boil hard 8 hr, topping the water up

goes in with what step 2 made

4stir the aromatics in, last hour

goes in with what step 3 made

Cooking it

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 9 hr 30 mintwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
30 minof the steps that give a time

One of the 4 steps never says how long it takes, so both numbers are floors. Nothing here says whether you can walk away, so all 30 min of it is counted as time you are standing over it. The recipe itself says 9 hr 30 min.

  1. parboil 30 min, then scrub every bone

    30 minneeds you(assumed)from the start

  2. boil hard 8 hr, topping the water up

    8 hrwalk away30 min in

  3. stir the aromatics in, last hour

    1 hrwalk away8 hr 30 min in

  4. strain, pressing the softened marrow through

    not timed9 hr 30 min in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them. The minutes are always the recipe’s own; a dashed edge means we worked out from the step whether you have to be there, and a dotted one means nothing was said, so we assumed you are standing over it.

You'll need stockpot

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Tonkotsu Broth
>> category: Soups
>> tags: pork, japanese, stock, ramen, stovetop
>> counters: Ramen Shop
>> aka: tonkotsu, tonkotsu broth, 豚骨, とんこつ, pork bone broth, white pork broth, Hakata broth, ramen broth, milky pork broth
>> pairs-with: tonkotsu-ramen
>> servings: 8
>> time: 9 hr 30 min
>> step.1: A shop boils this 12 to 18 hours and tops the pot up as it goes; this is the one-off home version — 8 hours, one pot, and genuinely white.
>> step.2: parboil 30 min, then scrub every bone
>> step.3: boil hard 8 hr, topping the water up
>> step.4: stir the aromatics in, last hour
>> step.5: strain, pressing the softened marrow through

A shop boils this twelve to eighteen hours and never empties the pot — it tops up, draws off, and starts again. A home pot cannot run that loop. What follows is the one-off version: eight hours, one pot, and it is genuinely white at the end of it.

Cover @pork trotters{2%lb}(900 g; split lengthways by the butcher), @pork neck bones{2%lb}(900 g) and @pork fatback{6%oz}(170 g) with @cold water{5%qt}(4.7 L) in a #stockpot{}, bring to a hard boil and ~parboil{30%min}, then tip the lot into the sink and scrub every bone under the tap until nothing brown or grey clings to it. Scrub the pot too. This is the only chance to take the scum out; after this the boil drives it back into the broth instead of lifting it to the top.

Return @&(~1)scrubbed bones{} to the pot with @water{6%qt}(5.7 L) and ~boil{8%hr} at a hard rolling boil, topping the water back to its starting line every hour or so. Never let it fall to a simmer. The whole difference between white broth and grey broth is mechanical: a rolling boil beats the collagen and the fat into the water as an emulsion, and a simmer lets them separate and sit there. If you have to leave it, take it off the heat entirely and start again cold.

Drop @yellow onion{1%large}(halved), @garlic{1%head}(halved across), @fresh ginger{2%in}(sliced) and @scallion greens{4%stalks} into @&(~1)broth{} for the last hour only, ~boil{1%hr}. In from the start they boil to nothing and leave a vegetal sweetness that reads as thin.

Strain @&(~1)broth{} through a coarse sieve, pressing the softened marrow and knuckle cartilage through with a ladle — that pulp is body, and leaving it in the sieve is leaving the broth behind. It should coat a spoon hot and set to a firm jelly cold.