Beast Bone Ramen: Legend of Endless Victory (Wild Boar Tonkotsu Ramen)

Break the large wild boar bones down to a size that fits in the pot and place them in your largest pot. Submerge them in water and add salt to reach a salt concentration similar to seawater, then let sit for about 30 minutes to draw out the blood. Once the blood and impurities float to the surface, rinse them away, then wash several more times with water to clean the bones.

Add water until the bones are just covered and boil hard over high heat the entire time. Skim off the scum that rises at first, and once the bones soften, cut the bones and joints to draw the stock out of the marrow. Top up with water whenever it reduces, and never let it scorch.

Wipe the moisture off the surface of the boar meat, and where it is thick, butterfly it open and roll the meat up to set the roll's shape. Tie one end tightly with a double square knot using kitchen twine, then repeatedly make a loop and pass it around the meat; once you reach the far end, turn back and tie the same way, finishing with a square knot to secure it.

Put the tied meat in a pot, add water until just covered, and add plenty of aromatics (green onion, ginger, garlic, and dried red chili, all unpeeled) to parboil it. Skim the scum, and once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 90 minutes with the lid set slightly ajar to let air escape.

Once simmered, remove the aromatics. Add about half of the flavorful cooking liquid to the soup pot, and to the remaining cooking liquid add soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar by eye, adjusting the strength with water to make a slightly strong sweet-savory sauce. Cover with a sheet of kitchen paper as a drop lid and reduce over low heat for about 30 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it cool as is.

Gently lower the eggs into boiling water and boil for 8 minutes, then transfer to ice water and peel. Once the chashu braising liquid has cooled somewhat, add the boiled eggs, cover again with the drop lid, and rest overnight in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, keep simmering the soup for a full day.

Take out the rested chashu, wipe the moisture off the surface, and remove the kitchen twine to sear it. Heat a frying pan and sear every side evenly over high heat to develop a fragrant browned crust.

Cut the marinated eggs in half, carve three holes with a carving knife, and pack the yolk into those holes. Make cuts around them to form a paw-print pattern.

Lightly crush the egg yolks, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for about a minute and a half to set them. Break them up finely with a masher, add a little water, and blend with a hand blender until they become a paste. Season lightly with salt, add potato starch a little at a time to adjust the firmness, and load it into a whipped cream injector.

Combine wheat flour and potato starch at a 3:1 ratio, season lightly with salt, and knead while adding water a little at a time until slightly firm. If it gets too loose, add more flour to adjust, then dust with flour and roll the dough out. Cut out shapes with the paw-print stamp and the dog stamp.

Pack the yellow paste into the cut-out sections and form the dog's ears and mouth. Leave indentations for the eyes and nose, which go in later. Boil gently and carefully for 2 to 3 minutes so they don't fall apart, lift them out, and attach the dog's eyes and nose using the douchi cut into thirds.

Chop the remaining toppings. Prepare the rehydrated wood ear mushrooms, green onions, and nori.

Boil the straight noodles. Put a little chashu sauce and tamari soy sauce in a bowl and dilute with the broth to make the soup. Add the boiled noodles, then arrange the chashu, paw-print marinated egg, decorative dough, wood ear mushrooms, green onions, and nori on top to finish.