🍜If you’ve ever wanted to make an extra cozy, deeply savory ramen that simmers all night and rewards your weekend with bowlfuls of comfort—this one’s for you. A brothy love letter to slow food: made Friday night, devoured Saturday.
No fancy ramen equipment here—just your trusty crock pot and a bit of patience.
✨ Why You’ll Love This Ramen:
- 🍖 Deep, porky richness developed over 18 slow hours
- 🥚 Soft-boiled eggs, tender pork belly, and a broth that hugs your soul
- ⏱️ Make-ahead friendly
- ➕ Easily doubled for a crowd
- 👨👩👧👦 A great weekend family project, or a solo therapeutic one-pot masterpiece
🔧 Equipment You’ll Need:
- Slow cooker / crock pot
- Large stockpot
- Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth
- Tongs or chopsticks
- Timer or phone alarms (you’ll thank yourself later!)
🧂 Ingredients at a Glance:
For the Broth:
- 3 lbs pork leg bones
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 garlic head, peeled
- 1 knob of ginger, sliced
- 3 liters water
- Optional: dried shiitake mushrooms, green onions, or kombu
For the Pork Belly:
- 1½ lbs slab pork belly
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ⅛ cup mirin
- ⅛ cup cooking sake
Toppings & Noodles:
- 1 ½ lbs Ramen noodles (fresh if possible!)
- 4–6 eggs
- Scallions, chopped
- Menma
- Nori, if desired
📅 Step-by-Step Cooking Timeline
🕠 Friday, 8:00 PM – Prep Your Broth
Step 1:
- In the crock pot: Add pork bones, onion, garlic, ginger, and enough water to fill.
- Optional: Add dried shiitake or a strip of kombu for bonus umami.
- Set your slow cooker to LOW for 12 hours.
🕒 Running Time: 12h
🕗 Saturday, 8:00 AM – Start on Chashu (Pork Belly)
Step 2:
- Wrap pork belly with kitchen string to help it hold shape.
- Add pork belly to the crockpot (still with broth).
- Top up water, if needed.
- Set slow cooker to HIGH for 4 hours.
🕒 Running Time: 16h
🕓 Saturday, 12:00 PM – Strain & Finish Broth
Step 3:
- Skim off scum from the broth.
- Carefully strain into a large pot and set aside.
- Discard bones and aromatics.
🕛 Saturday, 12:00 PM – Braise the Chashu
- In the emptied crock pot, add:
- ¾ cup of reserved broth
- Soy sauce, mirin, and sake
- ¾ cup of reserved broth
- Gently add pork belly. Cover with foil and press down to keep the meat submerged.
- Set slow cooker to HIGH for 2½ hours.
🕒 Running Time: 18.5h
🕐 Saturday, 2:30 PM – Chill Chashu & Prep Toppings
Step 4:
- Remove pork belly, place on a plate, cover, and chill until ready to serve. (You can freeze until firm if slicing soon.)
- Reserve the chashu sauce for serving.
- Soft-boil eggs: 7 minutes in boiling water + splash of vinegar, then transfer to an ice bath.
- Optional: Marinate eggs (we prefer them unseasoned here).
🕕 Saturday, 6:30 PM – It’s Dinner Time!
Step 5:
- Cook ramen noodles per package directions.
- Reheat broth to a rolling boil.
- Slice pork belly (remove string first) using a sharp knife.
To serve each bowl:
- 2–3 tbsp chashu sauce
- A ladle of hot broth
- Noodles, pork belly, egg, and scallions
- Add menma and nori, if desired.
Cue the “oohs” and “mmms.” You earned this.
🧠 Tips & Variations:
- Too rich? Add a squeeze of citrus—yuzu works beautifully.
- Want richer? Grate in a touch of butter before serving.
- Add heat: Toss in chili flakes or fresh chilies when reheating broth.
- Short on time? Use a miso broth and skip the overnight simmer.
- Add veggies: Sweet corn kernels are a great match.
🧊 Storage & Make Ahead:
- Broth freezes beautifully. Let it cool, then portion into jars or freezer bags.
- Soft-boiled eggs can be made a day ahead.
- Pork belly keeps well in the fridge for 2–3 days or freeze for future use.
📝 A Little Note from My Kitchen:
What started as a birthday dish for my sister-in-law has now become part of our growing Japanese-inspired recipe series.
This recipe is heavily adapted from Just One Cookbook’s Shoyu Ramen. I reworked the method to match our flavor preferences and weekend schedule—slow-simmered overnight in a crock pot for maximum flavor with minimum fuss.
Hey It's Jen Lou 