PORK FAT

After you strain and chill your tonkotsu, you will see the white fat cap. Remove it and try some of these infusions for your bowls. Our tonkotsu uses straight pork fat, no infusion, but it is topped with mayu, the burnt garlic oil that strikes a great bitter note up against all the porky fattiness.

Niboshi Oil

// MAKES ½ CUP

1 cup niboshi (dried anchovies)

1 cup pork or chicken fat

Bring the heat up slowly to 190°F and hold there for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and allow to totally cool before straining niboshi out. Reserve the oil in the fridge.

Mayu (Burnt Garlic Oil)

// MAKES 2 CUPS

You read that right: burnt garlic. The first time I saw and tasted this was in Vancouver, on a cold, rainy day. A black slick on top of a very thick tonkotsu stock. It was so bitter, but I could not get enough. Mayu is meant to offset the fattiness of the broth. On its own, hard to eat. In tokotsu, perfection.

½ cup garlic cloves

1 cup canola oil (or other high-heat neutral oil)

¼ cup sesame oil

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, place the garlic cloves and sesame oil and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the garlic from sticking, for about 20 minutes, until very dark brown. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature (the garlic should be black by the time it cools).

  2. Place the mixture in a blender, in batches if needed, and blend on high until completely smooth.

  3. Do not store this in the fridge; it will become a cement mass on the bottom and the oil will separate. The idea is to get this combination fully emulsified. The mayu will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.