Miso-Braised Pork Shoulder
Some bowls of ramen are meant to be rushed. This is not one of them. Miso-braised pork shoulder ramen is the kind of dish that takes over your whole afternoon and fills every room with the smell of caramelized miso and slowly surrendering pork. The shoulder goes into the pot tough and marbled and comes out so tender you can pull it apart with chopsticks. The broth turns golden and thick, carrying all that rendered fat and fermented miso depth in every spoonful. It's a cold-weather bowl, really, something you make when the windows are fogged up and you have nowhere to be. Hokkaido winters basically invented this kind of patience.
Low fire, long patience—miso melts through stubborn meat—winter's warmest gift
Let Me Tell You...
I burned the first batch of miso.
Just straight up forgot it was in the pot while I was messing around with the pork shoulder, trying to trim it like some kind of professional, and by the time I looked back the paste had gone from caramel to charcoal.
The apartment smelled like a bonfire in a soybean field for two days.
Second attempt I kept the heat low, let the miso bloom in the rendered pork fat until it turned this gorgeous amber color, and suddenly I understood what every Hokkaido ramen shop has been doing for decades.
Two minutes, no more.
It deepens flavor without burning.
The pork shoulder sat in that broth for over two hours, and I kept lifting the lid like a kid peeking at Christmas presents.
Every time I checked, the meat had softened a little more, the broth had thickened a little more, and my patience had thinned a little more.
By the ninety-minute mark the whole thing smelled so good I almost ate it straight from the pot with a wooden spoon.
I did, actually.
Nobody was watching.
The collagen had melted into the liquid and turned it silky, almost sticky, the way the best tonkotsu broth coats the back of a spoon.
That marbling is what makes the broth rich and glossy.
When the noodles finally hit the bowl and the broth poured over them, everything clicked.
The thick wavy noodles grabbed onto the broth like they were made for it, and the pork, pulled into rough shreds, sat on top like a crown.
I piled on scallions and a soft egg and sat down at the table with the kind of satisfaction you only get from something you almost ruined and then rescued.
Hokkaido-style miso ramen is supposed to be heavy and warming, and this version does not disappoint on either count.
Thin ones drown in this broth.
That bowl taught me something I keep forgetting: the best food is almost never fast. The pork needed every one of those two and a half hours, and the miso needed its slow bloom, and I needed to stop rushing things.
I scraped the bowl clean, drank the last of the broth, and sat there in the kind of quiet that only follows a really good meal.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone-in pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons red miso paste
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (such as canola or grapeseed)
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into coins
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 8 ounces thick wavy ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 2 large eggs, soft-boiled and halved
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced (plus more for serving)
- Kosher salt, to taste
- White pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Pat pork shoulder chunks dry with paper towels and season generously with kosher salt and white pepper on all sides.
- Heat neutral oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Sear pork in batches, browning on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer browned pork to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add smashed garlic, ginger coins, and quartered onion to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and lightly softened.
- Add white miso paste and red miso paste to the pot. Stir into the aromatics and cook for 2 minutes, letting the miso bloom and caramelize slightly in the rendered pork fat.
- Deglaze with sake and mirin, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the alcohol cook off for 1 minute.
- Return the seared pork to the pot. Pour in chicken broth and soy sauce. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes, until the pork is fork-tender and falling apart.
- Remove pork from the broth. Shred into rough pieces using two forks, discarding any bones. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids, then return the strained broth to the pot. Stir in toasted sesame oil and adjust seasoning with salt and white pepper.
- Bring a separate large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook thick wavy ramen noodles according to package directions (typically 3-4 minutes) until just tender. Drain and rinse briefly under warm water to remove excess starch.
- Divide cooked noodles among serving bowls. Ladle hot miso broth over the noodles. Pile shredded pork shoulder on top. Garnish each bowl with halved soft-boiled eggs, sliced green onions, and your choice of optional toppings. Serve immediately.