Mayu Garlic Ramen
Mayu is the black garlic oil that defines Kumamoto-style ramen, a variation of Kyushu tonkotsu that adds a swirl of charred garlic oil to the surface of the bowl right before serving. The garlic is cooked low and slow in oil until it caramelizes and darkens past gold into near-black, developing a deep, slightly bitter, profoundly savory flavor that is completely different from roasted garlic or raw garlic. The oil it's blended into carries that flavor across the whole bowl with every stir. One spoonful of mayu transforms a straightforward pork broth into something that tastes like it has been going for longer than it has and is darker and more complex than its color suggests.
Garlic turns to black—the oil goes dark and smoky—one spoon changes all
Let Me Tell You...
Mayu is one of those ingredients that you make once, understand immediately, and then can't stop using.
The process is slow-frying garlic in oil until it turns completely black, which sounds like burning and is not burning, because the difference between correctly blackened garlic and genuinely burned garlic is about five degrees of temperature and the willingness to go further than your instincts tell you to.
Burned garlic tastes acrid and wrong.
Mayu tastes like the concentrated essence of garlic with a smokiness layered in and a bitterness that is the productive kind, the kind that makes you want the next bite.
High heat burns the exterior while the inside stays raw.
Low and slow turns the whole clove into the black, jammy state mayu needs.
The broth here is a simplified tonkotsu-style using pork-enriched stock and white miso, which gets you to the creamy, rich baseline that mayu was designed to float on without requiring you to simmer pork bones for twelve hours.
The miso adds the fermented depth that makes the broth substantial enough to carry the black garlic oil.
If you have access to actual tonkotsu broth, use it.
The mayu will be even more dramatic against that backdrop.
Miso added to boiling liquid loses its fermented character within minutes.
The mayu goes on last, a spoonful dropped into the center of the finished bowl and left to spread slowly on its own, or swirled in deliberately with a chopstick.
Both approaches are correct. The point is that the oil sits on the surface until you break it and then it disperses into the broth, which is the moment the bowl becomes something different from what it was ten seconds earlier.
Let the eater swirl it in at the table.
The visual of the black oil spreading across the pale broth is part of the experience.
This is the bowl that ramen shops in Kumamoto built their reputations on.
The mayu is why.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- For mayu: 10 cloves garlic, peeled; 3 tablespoons neutral oil; 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 8 ounces ground pork
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken or pork broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon sesame paste or tahini
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (for pork)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (for broth)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Make the mayu: Place peeled garlic cloves and 3 tablespoons neutral oil in a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the garlic turns completely black and very soft. The oil will also darken. Cool slightly, then blend garlic, the cooking oil, and sesame oil until completely smooth. Transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cook ground pork: Heat 1 tablespoon neutral oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add ground pork and cook, breaking up, until browned and slightly crispy, about 5-6 minutes. Add minced garlic and ginger, cook 1 minute. Remove pork to a plate.
- In the same pot over medium heat, add chicken broth and milk. Bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in white miso, sesame paste, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm over very low heat.
- 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 hot broth over noodles. Add a spoonful of cooked pork. Drop 1 teaspoon of mayu into the center of each bowl without stirring. Add optional toppings and serve immediately, letting the eater swirl the mayu in.