Pic and recipe uploaded for  ~FACCC2... also think I'm gonna be uploading recipes and food pics a bit... so... don't hate. This is a recipe I've spent a lot of time working on and now I pass my knowledge on to you.

Chashu Pork Belly

Ingredients

Pork belly slab (rind on, NOT CURED)
Soy sauce (~½ cup)
Water (~ 1 cup)
Mirin (~1 cup)
Saké (~1 cup)
Sugar (~ ½ cup)
Garlic (~ 1 full bulb, pealed)
Ginger (6 to 9 cm / 2 to 3 inch knob cut into ½ cm / ¼ inch leafs)
Scallions (half a bunch or so, whites cut off and greens cut into 6 cm / 2 inch sticks)
Shallots (1 or 2, cut in half cross-wise, skin on)

Directions

1. Shape the pork belly by rolling it tightly with the fat side out and truss it with butcher's twine
2. Preheat oven to 135°C / 275° F
3. Mix your cooking liquids and sugar along with the garlic cloves, ginger, scallions, and shallots together in a pot and heat on the stove top to a light boil, then remove from heat.
4. Place the pork belly into the liquid, and put a lid on the pot slightly ajar. Cook it in the oven for about 3-½ to 4 hours until tender. (turn the pork occasionally).
5. Refrigerate the pork in with the liquids over night.
6. Slice thin (easiest to slice freshly out of the fridge) and reheat* to enjoy.

*to reheat there are 3 options: the lazy, the slightly less lazy, and the badass.
The lazy: just put it in your hot ramen and forget about it
The slightly less lazy: simmer it in a pan with the cooking liquids (Also good to do to marinate soft boiled eggs for your ramen)
The badass: After simmering your slices use a blow torch (propane... not a butane brûlée torch) to char the outside of your pork.



Tonkotsu Ramen Broth

Ingredients

Chicken carcass (2 parts)
Split pork trotters (3 parts) (best if cut into cross-wise disks, but split lengthwise it's still fine)
Onion (one or two large, cut into big chunks)
Scallion whites (save the greens for garnish/topping)
Ginger (6 to 9 cm / 2 to 3 inch knob cut into ½ cm / ¼ inch leafs)
Garlic (~ a full bulb, pealed)
Leeks (2, split and well cleaned)
Pork Fatback (A good sized hunk, unsalted)
Mushrooms (I like trumpet mushrooms, or trimmings from enokitake or maitake mushrooms, but this time I just had cremini)

Optional Directions

This is for if you want a golden broth, if you don't take these steps it'll turn brownish. It still tastes the same, but some people get pissy about color.

1. Put the trotters and carcass in a stock pot and cover with cold water, bring to a boil
2. As soon as it comes to a boil dump the whole thing in a sink to drain.
3. Remove every single bit of brown you see in the trotters and bones (organs, dark marrow, everything not beige or white)

Directions

1. In a screaming hot pan cook down your onion, garlic, and ginger; cooking it until they are so browned they are almost black, (only parts of them, obviously... don't get it all charred like an idiot)
2. Put all the ingredients in a large stock pot (with the fatback on the very top) and cover with cold water and bring to a slow rolling boil with the lid on. (top water as needed as not to make a glace to burn; remember you want a thick creamy soup, not a meat jell-o).
3. After ~ 4 hours of boiling carefully take out the fatback with a slotted spatula (it should be an extremely soft, almost liquid texture) and mince it into tiny bits (Best if done by hand, but a food processor can be used in a pinch). Refrigerate for later.
4. Continue to boil the rest of the stock for 6-8 hours (Sometimes I go as long as 10 or 12, though)
5. Strain the liquid into a clean pot, skim the liquid fat from the top and toss it.
6. Whisk in your fine-chopped fatback. Season the broth with some umami condiments (I usually go with salt, a splash of soy sauce, and a little miso paste). Serve with ramen noodles and the toppings you desire (I usually go with scallions, enokitake or maitake mushrooms, a soft boiled egg, chashu, and a little pickled bamboo).