Kalua Pork Ramen
Traditional kalua pork is cooked in an imu, a underground pit oven lined with volcanic rocks and ti leaves, where a whole pig slow-cooks for hours in its own steam. This is not something most people can do on a Tuesday, or at all, which is why the home version uses liquid smoke and a Dutch oven or slow cooker to approximate what the imu does, and the result is genuinely excellent and genuinely close to the real thing. The key is the same as the traditional version: coarse Hawaiian sea salt, low and slow heat, and pork shoulder with enough fat to keep the meat from drying out over a very long cook. The ramen noodles go into a broth built from the pork braising liquid, which by hour four is one of the best things in your kitchen.
Salt and liquid smoke—pork shoulder gives up the fight—the imu wins slow
Let Me Tell You...
The first time I tasted actual imu-cooked kalua pork at a luau in Maui I understood immediately that the home version is an approximation and also understood that the approximation is still very good and I should stop being ungrateful about it.
The difference between pit-cooked pork and oven-cooked pork with liquid smoke is the difference between a thing and a thing that remembers the thing, and a thing that remembers the thing is often enough.
The braising liquid, after four hours with the pork, is a different story.
That's not an approximation of anything.
That's its own achievement.
The mineral content is different from regular sea salt and it matters for the crust that forms on the exterior of the pork.
Liquid smoke is an ingredient that gets dismissed by people who haven't used it correctly, which is sparingly.
One tablespoon for a four-pound piece of pork is the correct amount.
Two tablespoons and it tastes chemical.
Half a tablespoon and you don't notice it.
The smoke flavor it provides is real, derived from actual wood smoke condensed into liquid, and at the right concentration it does exactly what it promises.
Write it on your hand if you need to.
More than that and the dish tastes like a campfire in the wrong way.
The pork takes four hours minimum, and during that time the collagen in the shoulder breaks down into gelatin, which is what gives the braising liquid its body and the reason it's worth using as a ramen broth instead of discarding.
You shred the pork at the end and it should fall apart with almost no effort.
If you have to pull hard, it needs more time.
Return it to the pot, add twenty minutes, and trust the process.
Pulling hard means collagen hasn't broken down fully.
Give it more time.
The bowl feeds more people than most recipes in this collection because kalua pork doesn't really work in small quantities.
Make the full amount, serve it over ramen the first night, and freeze the rest in its braising liquid for months of excellent future bowls.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 3 lbs bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt), skin-on if possible
- 2 tablespoons Hawaiian pink sea salt (or coarse kosher salt)
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1 cup water
- 3 ti leaves or banana leaves (optional but traditional)
- 3 cups water (additional, for broth)
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce (for broth)
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325F. Score the pork shoulder skin or fat cap in a crosshatch pattern. Rub liquid smoke all over the pork, then rub generously with Hawaiian sea salt, pressing it into the scored fat.
- Line a large Dutch oven with ti leaves or banana leaves if using. Place pork fat-side up in the pot. Add 1 cup water. Cover tightly with the lid (or aluminum foil if the lid isn't tight).
- Braise in the oven for 3.5 to 4 hours until pork is completely tender and shreds easily with two forks. Remove pork and let rest 15 minutes.
- Strain braising liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a medium saucepan. Add additional 3 cups water, soy sauce, and smashed garlic. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir in sesame oil. Taste and adjust salt. The broth will be light and smoky.
- Shred pork with two forks into large, irregular pieces, discarding the bone and any large fat deposits. Toss shredded pork with 1 cup of the braising broth to keep it moist.
- Bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil. Cook ramen noodles for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Drain and divide between serving bowls.
- Ladle smoky broth over noodles. Pile shredded kalua pork generously on top. Add optional toppings and serve immediately.