There is simply nothing more nourishing and satisfying than a bowl of soup. Bone broth itself has not only become the darling of the wellness world, but it has garnered bragging rights for chefs and cooks worldwide for centuries. As long as there have been chicken bones, pork bones, beef bones, and water, there has been stock.
For an American girl like me, my mom’s chicken noodle soup was magic because it always made me feel better. Moms do that, but it was something else: the stock. Looking back, with my knowledge of stock today, I know why. That lick-your-lips thickness to a great bowl of chicken soup is created by the presence of fat and collagen. They’re vital players in a ramen bowl, and your aim when making ramen broth is to extract ALL the goodness of the bones into the water.
One of the things I learned quickly is that making ramen stock is the total inverse of making a stock using the French method. For ramen, I was taught to use only bones and water. Do not use mirepoix (vegetables) and seasonings, because they change the broth’s color and viscosity. The tare, oil, and topping do the flavor work. A ramen stock also has a higher ratio of bones to water than a traditional broth. When you taste your completed ramen stock, you should taste the very essence of the chicken and bones.
The stock is the canvas on which you will create your ramen bowl.
Stock versus Broth
What’s the difference? This is a topic of much debate. But I will simplify for our purposes.
Broth can have vegetables, aromatics, meat, and bones. It has a shorter cooking time and is seasoned. Stock has a longer cooking time and is unseasoned.
Broth is typically used as a soup base, whereas stock is used more for its viscosity, gelatin, and collagen, as well as minerals.
Enter bone broth (I know, it’s confusing).
BONE BROTH
You got it, bone broth is a stock made from bones, water, and vegetables, cooked at a lower heat for a longer period to extract the minerals and collagen (gelatin), and then seasoned like a broth. It’s the best of both worlds. Everyone seems to be obsessed with making it or buying it, and with good reason. It’s really, really good for you when you use the bones of responsibly raised animals. It promotes fast-growing nails and hair; plump, glowing skin; and a host of positive internal side effects.
But I have to tell you, many of the bone broths I see on the market make me scratch my head because they don’t contain any fat—and the fat is the key.
Now, let’s get nerdy for a minute about the actual wellness power of a well-made bone broth. The minerals you extract from the bones are calcium and magnesium, which promote a healthy gut and strong bones. The collagen and fat act as escorts for those minerals to promote an anti-inflammatory benefit for humans (and many animals), but the key here is the relationship of the collagen and fat to the equation. So don’t skimp, either in a simple broth or in a ramen broth. Those two elements are vital, and with time, if you make and drink these broths often, you will see the lovely cosmetic effects in your nails, hair, and skin. (Seriously, this happens.)
Now you can rejoice because I have just told you that ramen is good for you—and it’s true. We are beginning to unravel some of the mystery about exactly why ramen makes you so happy. It’s still magic, but now we have a little science to back it up.
THE KEY TO BONE BROTH
Bone broth is only as good as its bones and water.
Water
I always try to use the cleanest water I can: filtered, mineral, spring, or reverse osmosis (the gold standard). If you begin with great-tasting water, you’ll have great-tasting broth. Simple.
Bones
Use the highest-quality animal you can get. Organic, natural, grass fed, it’s your choice. You are extracting everything from these bones, and I know I don’t want to ingest hormones, so spend the extra money and get the best bones and meat you can find. Fat hens work best for making ramen stock because the meat adds flavor and the bones are nice and big, so ask your butcher if they can get you a hen. You will probably have good luck at your farmers market as well. Use skin-on always, to get all that beautiful chicken fat.
The recipes will highlight the specific bones that are best to use in each recipe.
Some ramen shops like to make combo broths, chicken and pork bones together for example, but I am a purist, and we make singular stocks at the shop and combine on order. One of the simplest reasons for making singular stocks is that sometimes you may want to make a big batch of broth and use it for another soup or as a stock for cooking. Another reason is because it’s more precise when creating your own flavors if, for example, you can note a recipe should have ¼ beef stock + ¼ chicken stock + ½ pork stock. Making adjustments to your broth is much easier this way, and you can never have too much stock in your freezer.
COOKING BONE BROTH
Let’s talk about your stove. What kind of heat will you be using? The answer will affect the style you choose to make your stock.
Stovetops
The most common method is going to take a lot of time and attention, but it’s worth it.
Gas. This is the most widely used and loved stovetop heat source. The only hindrance is that these broths can take up to twelve hours to complete, and it’s not wise to leave a pot on a gas stove overnight. (In other words, don’t do it. I almost burned my house down talking myself into thinking this would be okay.) So it’s going to be an early morning (for a few days in a row) to complete your stock if you go this route.
Electric or induction. Both are safe and steady. The heat is controlled and consistent and allows you to safely cook a stock for a long time, even unattended overnight.
Pressure cooking. Cooking with pressure has a handful of pretty convincing upsides. When it comes to making ramen stock, it both reduces cooking time by close to three ve and removes oxygen from the process. The result is a vibrant stock made with no mess in a fraction of the time. No-brainer. But (there is always a but) it could be argued that the downside is the liquid simply doesn’t have as long to impart the flavors you are asking it to with a shorter cook time. And as much as I love the speed and efficiency of the pressure cooker broth method, there’s really nothing quite like hunkering down in the winter and spending a full day tending to stock on the stovetop, preferably while bingeing on Netflix. The stovetop stock method is the one you’ll want to use for those days, and it will make your house smell absolutely incredible. But many of you will opt for the pressure cooker because of the realities of time and life. The old-school pot on the stovetop will do the trick, but if you have not already caught on to the Instant Pot craze, now is the time. I seriously cannot live without mine.
