Tonkotsu Ramen; Recipes & More!

A bowl of ramen noodles: a sight to behold, and a joy to create. 

It can be as uncomplicated as simply noodles & broth, or as sophisticated as a homemade bowl of beautiful, creamy tonkotsu ramen. What is tonkotsu ramen? This ramen style is a far-cry from the 10 cent packets you enjoyed as a kid; it’s all grown-up and dressed to impress. 

Today we’re exploring this fun ramen dish, and we’re also sharing some of our favorite tonkotsu ramen recipes so you can see for yourself how absolutely amazing it is.

What is Tonkotsu Ramen?

In case you haven’t yet been fully indoctrinated into the wonderful world of ramen, here’s an uncomplicated overview of an otherwise elaborate meal:

The broth that’s used to make tonkotsu ramen is like the Holy Grail of ramen broths. 

It’s thick, creamy and delicious, and made from pork marrow bones that have been painstakingly simmered to smithereens. Typically included in this concoction are chewy noodles, soft-boiled ramen eggs, scallions, sweet corn, bamboo shoots, and pork belly that basically falls apart when you look at it. 

What sets this broth apart from the rest is the amount of time it takes to make it. 

Traditional tonkotsu broth is made by carefully cooking the pork bones for a long (agonizingly long!) amount of time- until the collagen and fats dissolve- resulting in a unique, flavorful soup base. Tonkotsu ramen broth can take a chef up to 3 days to make (less if you’re impatient), making this distinctly delicious soup quite an excursion. 

However, with our Pork Tonkotsu Ramen packs, you can make your own tonkotsu ramen at home, with the same lip-smacking flavor, minus the crazy-long hours of prep. 

How did we do this? We mastered the flavor of traditional tonkotsu ramen, and distilled it down to the flavor packet, included in our ramen noodles. Even the pickiest palettes won’t be able turn down a bowl of this stuff. Our Tonkotsu ramen is fast, convenient, and oh-so delicious- and you can make each bowl of tonkotsu ramen slightly different each time you make it.

Here are some of our favorite, mouthwateringly-easy Tonkotsu ramen recipes:

Breakfast Ramen

None of that standing-over-a-hot-stove-all-day, or waiting 24 hours to eat your nosh; this quick and easy tonkotsu ramen recipe will be ready to eat in under 20 minutes. You’ll be craving seconds before you’re even finished. 

Pro tip: Make a double batch (with two packets of noodles) on days when you’re looking for a heftier meal.

Honey Roasted Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Bowl

We’ve simplified the traditional, time-consuming bowl of tonkotsu ramen, enabling you to make a bowl of ramen from the comfort of your own kitchen- one that rivals eating in one of Tokyo’s best ramen joints.

Chashu Pork Belly sits proudly on top of a creamy tonkotsu broth, filled to the brim with noodles, mushrooms, and (of course) a ramen egg with a perfectly creamy center that compliments the fats in the soup broth oh so well. 

Shredded Pork Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen Bowl

We nominate this recipe for “most likely to be repeated.” 

This recipe uses ingredients that you probably already have sitting in your fridge, or that can easily be found at the store. But don’t be fooled by the ease of this one- it tastes anything but “simple.” The complexity of the Mike’s Mighty Good flavor packet joins forces with the flavors of the added toppings- you will definitely want to make this recipe again and again.

Amy vs Food’s Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen

This recipe combines the ease of instant ramen that can be made in minutes, with the taste of tonkotsu broth that has been simmering for days.

Amy used the Spicy Pork Tonkotsu ramen noodle pillow pack and added her own twist on this rich and flavorful ramen recipe. 

P.S. It’s got a little kick.

Pork Tenderloin Tonkotsu Ramen

A little bit of coconut milk goes a long way, and in the case of this ramen recipe- it brings the broth up to a whole new level of creaminess. Throw in some shrooms, pork tenderloin, a ramen egg, a little seasoning and you’ve made in a few minutes what takes some foodies days.

We won’t tell anyone if you don’t…

@mitchsbitchinkitchen’s Tonkotsu Ramen

In Michelle’s own words: “I first fell in love with @mikesmightygood ramen last year, while searching through the internet for homemade ramen recipes. What I found was, if you want to achieve an amazing broth you have to put in hours of work into it. Something I really wasn’t interested in doing.” 

We totally get that, Michelle, which is why we created the tonkotsu instant ramen flavor. 

She made her noodle bowl pictured above with fried pork belly, green onion, bagel seasoning (cool, right?) chili paste, and sriracha. Doesn’t it look divine? 

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“I’ve never really liked instant ramen, I hated the taste, the consistency of the noodles & only ate ramen if we were specifically going out to a restaurant for it. Then I found Mike’s. Specifically their pork tonkotsu. 🤤  Its broth is insanely rich & flavorful, something no other instant ramen has ever been able to live up to for me. I fell in love!” – Michelle 

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What Toppings are Good with Tonkotsu Ramen?

The options for ramen toppings are vast, but traditionally, tonkotsu ramen is served with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, a soft boiled ramen egg, naruto (that weird little white thing with the pink swirl) and of course, the pork. 

But we’re not huge rule followers when it comes to ramen toppings (we even made breakfast ramen, which kind of proves our point- right?) so here are a few additional topping options for a bowl of tonkotsu ramen:

• Fried onions
• Seaweed
• Pickled ginger
• Sprouts
• Miso butter
• Garlic 
• Jalapeno slices
• Green chilis
• Sweet corn
• Butter

For more inspiration, take a look at our other ramen noodle recipes, or you can browse Mike’s Mighty Good ramen selection here and get creative with the different ramen flavors. 

If you’ve tried any of the Tonkotsu ramen recipes that we mentioned above, let us know what you think! You can rate the recipe cards on their pages, or tag us in your creations on Instagram @MikesMightyGood