Make the chashu

Roll the pork belly

Make a few shallow cuts into the meat side of the pork belly to make it easier to roll.

Poke a few holes into the meat with a fork, then roll the pork belly tightly with the skin-side-out.

Secure it with butcher's twine, wrapping the string around the pork every ½–1 inch. Once you've wrapped it width-wise, wrap the twine length-wise and tie a double knot. Cut off any excess string.

Sear the pork

Heat the oil in a cast iron pan, Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat.

Sear the rolled pork belly on all sides until deeply browned, then remove from the pan.

Braise

If there's a lot of excess oil or pork fat in the pan, remove some before continuing.

Add the sake, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, water, spring onions, garlic and ginger to the pot.

Return the seared pork belly to the braising liquid.

Bring everything to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 1½–2 hours, turning the pork every 30 minutes so it cooks evenly.

Chill the chashu

Once cooked, turn off the heat and allow the pork to cool slightly.

Remove the pork and strain the braising liquid into a container.

Place the pork into a large ziplock bag and add around ¼–½ cup of the strained braising liquid.

Remove as much air as possible, seal the bag and refrigerate overnight.

Reserve the remaining braising liquid, this can be used to make your ramen eggs!

Slice & sear

The next day, remove the pork from the bag and cut away the butcher's twine.

Slice the chashu into thin pieces.

Just before serving, sear the slices using a blow torch, under the grill/broiler or in a hot pan until caramelised around the edges.

Make the menma

Drain the bamboo shoots and cut them into smaller pieces if needed.

Heat the sesame oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the bamboo shoots for 2–3 minutes.

Add the light soy sauce, mirin, chicken powder, sugar and water.

Cook until the liquid reduces and coats the bamboo shoots in a glossy sauce.

Set aside.

Make the miso tare

Add the white miso, red miso, mirin, sake, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, togarashi and sesame seeds to a saucepan.

Mix together over high heat until combined.

Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the alcohol from the sake has cooked off and you can no longer smell it.

Set aside.

Make the ramen

Cook the instant ramen noodles and broth according to the packet instructions.

If you want to warm your narutomaki, add the slices to the pot while the noodles are cooking.

Assemble the bowl

Add around 1 tbsp of miso tare to the bottom of your ramen bowl.

Pour in the hot tonkotsu broth and mix well to dissolve the tare.

Add the cooked noodles, then arrange your toppings on top:

• Chashu
• Ramen egg
• Menma
• Narutomaki
• Spring onion
• Nori

And that's it, enjoy!