Steps

1. Prepare water for boiling noodles. Heat over low heat, and once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and keep warm.
   🕒 00:15
2. Prepare the soup seasonings. In a pot, combine 350ml water, 3g kombu (wiped clean with a damp paper towel), 2 tbsp Cooking Sake (Rice Wine), 1/2 tsp Chicken Consommé, and 1 clove grated garlic. [Secret Tip!] Do not wash the kombu. Wiping the surface with a damp paper towel removes dirt without sacrificing umami. Combining animal-based umami (inosinate) with that from kombu and vegetables (amino acids) creates a synergistic umami boost that is 7-8 times stronger.
   🕒 00:25
3. Lightly rinse 1/2 pack bean sprouts. [Secret Tip!] Even if the bean sprouts don't require rinsing, a quick wash removes their characteristic odor.
   🕒 01:32
4. Add 1.5 tbsp oil to a frying pan. (Reduce oil to half if you prefer a lighter taste).
   🕒 01:44
5. Prepare the pork. Cut 100g pork belly into 2-3cm pieces. [Secret Tip!] Using fatty pork belly provides a more satisfying texture than ground meat and brings out a rich fat without needing extra lard.
   🕒 02:04
6. Add the cut pork belly to the frying pan with oil.
   🕒 03:08
7. Heat the frying pan over low-medium heat and slowly stir-fry the pork belly to render the lard. [Secret Tip!] High heat will toughen the meat. Cook over low heat to gently extract the fat.
   🕒 03:16
8. Once the pork has released plenty of fat, add the soup seasonings prepared in the pot (water, kombu, sake, chicken consommé, grated garlic) and bring to a boil.
   🕒 03:58
9. Once the soup boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes to extract the flavors from the pork and kombu. [Secret Tip!] This step brings the soup closer to a restaurant-quality taste.
   🕒 04:27
10. Prepare the miso tare. In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp miso and 2 tsp peanut butter. [Secret Tip!] Peanut butter adds a rich, deep hidden flavor to the soup. Choose a peanut butter that is not too sweet but has good richness.
    🕒 04:41
11. After 5 minutes, increase the heat to medium, add the rinsed bean sprouts, and cook for about 1 minute until softened.
    🕒 05:16
12. Remove the kombu from the pot.
    🕒 05:32
13. Simultaneously, warm the serving bowl with hot water. [Secret Tip!] Warming the bowl with the boiling water helps keep the soup hot, allowing you to enjoy the ramen at its best temperature.
    🕒 05:37
14. Add medium-thick noodles to the hot water used for warming the bowl and boil according to the package instructions.
    🕒 05:52
15. Once the bean sprouts are softened, turn off the heat. Ladle a small amount of soup into a separate bowl and dissolve the prepared miso and peanut butter into it. [Secret Tip!] Miso is difficult to dissolve directly into the soup. It's best to dissolve it in a small amount of soup first before adding it to the main pot.
    🕒 05:59
16. Return the dissolved miso mixture to the pot and taste. Considering it will be eaten with noodles, adjust the saltiness to be slightly stronger than you might prefer.
    🕒 06:30
17. Reheat the soup thoroughly.
    🕒 06:37
18. Place the drained noodles in the serving bowl and ladle in the soup.
    🕒 06:48
19. Gently mix the noodles with the soup, then top with the cooked pork belly and bean sprouts. Garnish with green onions, menma, or other toppings as desired. Your ramen is ready to serve!
    🕒 06:59