Chicken Paitan Ramen

u/Ramen_Lord

I feel like Tonkotsu is the most popular style in the States. Everyone loves the creamy consistency, the richness, the full, meaty, satisfying flavor. It’s like drinking cream.

But what if I told you that you could make an awesome, and similar, version with chicken, in just 6 hours, instead of the 18 hours recommendfor tonkotsu?

Enter Tori Paitan. Chicken Paitan, Tonkotsu’s neglected cousin. It uses very similar technique as tonkotsu, but only uses chicken bones to create some delicious, creamy goodness.

I’ll be honest, this recipe ranks right up there with one of my favorites. Maybe just below miso (because I have a miso bias and miso is my obsessive favorite). But it is highly reminiscent of Santouka, who uses a good amount of chicken in their tonkotsu. It hits those right notes. It’s lighter than tonkotsu but just as satisfying and creamy.

Did I mention it’s easier? It’s also more approachable for the american palate than a tonkotsu funk bomb. SWEET.

Credits: u/Ramen_Lordr/post

Soup

Tare

Noodles

Chashu

Egg

Aroma Oil

Asembly

Tori Paitan uses the same broad technique as tonkotsu, but due to the lower density of the bones and more accessible fat and gelatin content, requires less time to complete.

Takes around 10 hours in total.

Ingredients

4 lbs chicken backs or one whole chicken, broken down into sections
2-3 lbs chicken wings (around 6 wings total)
2-3 lbs chicken feet, toes removed
1 carrot
1 onion
White ends from two bunches of green onions
A 2 inch piece of ginger
10 garlic cloves

Steps

Two hours prior to cooking, soak the chicken parts in cold water. This helps remove some of the myoglobin, though chicken tends to have less than pork. Soak for two hours.

Drain the water, place the chicken parts into a stock pot, cover with water by two inches.

Place on the stove over high heat, bring to a boil

Skim the scum that comes to the surface until little to no scum rises, around 15 min of skimming

Cover, cook on medium high heat, making sure the pot is boiling rapidly, around 6 hours. Refill with water as needed, and stir occasionally to avoid the debris scorching on the bottom.

One hour before completion (at least 6 hours later, I went 8), remove the lid, add aromatics, and boil uncovered for 1 hour. The broth should barely be covering the bones by the time this boiling process is done. If not, continue to boil on high heat until reduced appropriately.

Strain the broth and reserve as needed. You can optionally at this point insert an immersion blender to whip things up and help the emulsification further.