Tonkotsu ramen

{{Short description|Ramen variety from Fukuoka, Japan}}

{{distinguish|text = the Japanese deep-fried pork dish tonkatsu}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Tonkotsu ramen

| image = Tonkotsu ramen.JPG

| caption = Tonkotsu ramen

| alternate_name = Hakata ramen

| course =

| served =

| type = Noodle soup

| country = Japan

| region = Fukuoka

| creator = Tokio Miyamoto

| year = 1937

| main_ingredient = {{hlist|Ramen|pork|broth|chāshū}}

| variations = Kagoshima ramen

| calories =

| other =

}}

{{nihongo|Tonkotsu ramen|豚骨ラーメン}} is a ramen dish that originated in Kurume,{{cite book | last1=Heiter | first1=C. | last2=Press | first2=T.A. | last3=George | first3=R. | title=To Japan with Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur | publisher=ThingsAsian Press | series=To Asia with Love | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-934159-05-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQLNBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA34 | access-date=16 May 2017 | page=34}}{{cite book |title=From the Source – Japan | publisher=Lonely Planet Publications | series=Lonely Planet | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-76034-311-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2LXMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT384 | access-date=16 May 2017 | pages=pt384–386}}{{cite web |title=The History of Tonkotsu Ramen in Kyushu |date=June 2021 |url=https://www.abokichi.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-tonkotsu-ramen-in-kyushu |access-date=16 August 2023}} Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and is a specialty dish on the island of Kyushu.

The broth for tonkotsu ramen is based on pork bones, which is what the word {{nihongo|tonkotsu|豚骨/とんこつ}} means in Japanese.{{cite book | last=Aye | first=M.M. | title=Noodle!: 100 Amazing Authentic Recipes | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | series=100 Great Recipes | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4729-1061-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdrHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 | access-date=16 May 2017 | pages=48–49}}{{cite web | title=Tonkotsu ramen's international popularity inspires innovation | website=The Straits Times | date=8 May 2017 | url=http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/tonkotsu-ramens-international-popularity-inspires-innovation | access-date=16 May 2017}} It is prepared by boiling the bones in water for up to eighteen hours, at which point the soup becomes cloudy in appearance. Additional broth ingredients can include onion, garlic, spring onions, ginger, pork back fat, pig's trotters, oil, and chicken carcass. The dish is traditionally topped with chāshū (sliced pork belly), and additional ingredients can include kombu, kikurage, shōyu, chili bean paste, and sesame seeds.

The traditional preparation method for tonkotsu ramen is for the noodles to be hard in the center. Some ramen shops allow customers to select the level of firmness, including futsu for regular or standard, harigane for very hard, barikata for al dente, and yawamen for soft. Some restaurants also provide a second order of noodles if requested by the customer, in a system referred to as kaedama.