--- title: 'Just Need Bones and Water : Tonkotsu Broth Recipe by an ex-ramen chef | Part 1' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=pNZO29RCT9s' video_id: 'pNZO29RCT9s' date: 2026-06-29 duration_sec: 318 --- # Just Need Bones and Water : Tonkotsu Broth Recipe by an ex-ramen chef | Part 1 > Source: [Just Need Bones and Water : Tonkotsu Broth Recipe by an ex-ramen chef | Part 1](https://youtube.com/watch?v=pNZO29RCT9s) ## Summary This video by an ex-ramen chef teaches how to make authentic Tonkotsu broth using only bones and water. It covers selecting the right bones (knuckle and spine), cleaning them thoroughly, and boiling for 8 hours with key techniques to achieve a creamy, umami-rich broth. ### Key Points - **Bone Selection** [00:29] — Knuckle bones provide richness and creaminess; pork spine adds profound umami. Blend them for best flavor. - **Soaking Bones** [01:01] — Soak bones in cold water for 6 hours to remove blood and prevent funky taste. Some chefs skip this for a more intense flavor. - **Removing Vein** [01:13] — Remove the center vein from the spine to avoid unpleasant smell. Ask butcher to cut spine lengthwise. - **Parboiling and Rinsing** [01:56] — Parboil bones for 10 minutes, skimming scum, then rinse under cold water. This step is crucial for clean broth. - **Boiling Ratio and Time** [02:57] — Use 1 kg spine and 1 kg knuckles with 5 liters water, aiming for 4 liters final broth. Boil for 8 hours at medium heat. - **Key Boiling Tips** [03:25] — Stir every 30 minutes, smash bones with wooden spatula after a few hours, and top up with boiling water as needed. - **Final Broth** [04:13] — After 8 hours, strain broth. Result is perfectly emulsified, rich, and umami-packed Tonkotsu broth. ## Transcript Tonkotsu Ramen is probably the global ramen icon and it's reaching creamy broth is enjoyed by many people around the world and in this video I'm going to introduce you to the way I make my own Tonkotsu broth with a few important tips. There are two kinds of bones I'd like to use in combination today. One is knuckle bones and the other is pork spine. The reason why I'd like to blend them together is that because they have different flavor profiles. While the knuckle gives richness and creaminess to the broth the spine gives profound umami. So when it comes to the knuckles make sure that they're cutting half and bone exposed. Right let's get started now and firstly we're going to clean the bones. Firstly we're going to soak the bones in cold water for six hours to get rid of the blood. By doing this you can achieve the broth without funkiness. Some ramen chefs skip this process to make the broth intentionally funky as it can also be part of flavor when it comes to ramen. Since such kind of broth is usually love it or hate it I'd like to make broth that anyone can enjoy in this video. Now six hours have passed you see the water looks pinkish so we're going to throw it away. Now we're going to remove the center of vein in the spine because that releases unpleasant smell. So in order to do this process make sure to ask your local butcher to cut it in half lengthwise. So the next step is to pervoid the bones to remove the scum put the bones back into the pot and cover with water. Now bring it to a boil on the full whack then simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat constantly skimming off the scum. After 10 minutes or when you don't see the brown foam anymore it's time to strain the bones again and rinse them on the running cold water and that's how to clean the bones when you make them gods broth. Well it seems like a lot of things to do but when it comes to broth making this kind of effort really makes difference so I strongly recommend you guys not skip this. All the bones are properly cleaned now so it's time to boil them. Now place the cleaned bones back into the pot and add water. This time I've got one kilo of spine and one kilo of knuckles. To that we're going to add five liters of water. We're aiming to end up with four liters of some gods broth so start by adding full liters of water and not the level it reaches. Now pour in the rest of the water turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil reduce the heat to medium and from this point we're going to keep it boiling for 8 hours. The reason it takes so long is to extract the full mommy from the bones and the boiling process also helps the water emancipate with the fat from them. Now you'll notice white foam forming on top of the broth as a bowl but there's no need to skim it off. Here are some important tips to keep in mind. Firstly stir the broth every half an hour to help promote emancipation. Secondly after a few hours boiling use a wooden spatula to smash the bones and break up the connective tissues. This helps release the bone marrow into the broth. Finally and boiling water as needed topping up with a few liters whenever the broth level drops below the line we note it. By applying these tips to your broth making you'll achieve a fantastic final result. Finally after 8 hours the tongue gods broth is ready. Let's turn off the heat and strain the bones from the broth. Now look at this perfectly emulsified rich tongue gods broth packed with mommy and porky goodness. Okay that was how to make tongue gods broth. It requires a bit of effort and time but it's definitely worth it. Give it a try and in my next video I'm going to show you how to make tare a sizzling sauce for tongue gods ramen. Alright that's it for this video. If you liked my recipe please give me thumbs up and I'd really appreciate it if you subscribed to my channel as well. Thanks so much for watching, catch you later.