Said to have originated in the late 30s of the 20th century on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu as an amalgamation of “Chanpon”, a regional noodle-based dish native to Nagasaki, and of what was then called “Sina Soba”, a progenitor of all modern ramen cuisine, Tonkotsu Ramen has since spread not only throughout the whole Japan but has found many adherents around the world too. 

It derives its name from the type of ingredients used to make its soup stock, i.e. pig (“TON“) bones (“KOTSU“), so has pork in it by definition.

Although its first renditions were of the so called “chintan” or light variety (averaging at density of around 1-2), which would probably have been considered rather bland by today’s standards, it has since evolved to be made with much more thick and saturated (“paitan“) broths, at times going all the way to density 20.

Tonkotsu can be made using bones from different parts of the animal, which in turn affects the overall flavor of soup with varieties made from leg bones tending to have that typical for Tonkotsu ‘right-in-your-face’ pungent gamey taste – many find so irresistibly tempting, while many… rather preferring other options. 

You can learn more about Ramen soup theory by reading a free booklet authored by Kaoru Fujii, Yamato’s founder and CEO, available >here<, but to familiarize with a practical side of the issue, including ingredients, noodle making methods, dish preparation, plating techniques for Tonkotsu Ramen – join Yamato on September 3, 2020 for a free online class broadcast live from our Headquarters in Kagawa.

NOTE: we are looking forward for, and would definitely welcome your watching the live broadcast, but should it be difficult, you would still be able to watch a recorded version of the class using the same link sent to you upon your registration.