Copycat Yamaokaya Shoyu Ramen

Lay the pork belly for the chashu in a heatproof container, overlapping the slices, and add 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce and a pinch of sugar, coating it all over. Overlapping the slices keeps them from shrinking up as they cook, giving chashu with a clean cross-section.

Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and microwave for 1 minute 40 seconds. After heating, leave it as is so the thin slices soak up the flavor.

Put 600cc of water in a pot (for 2 servings; halve for 1 serving).

Put the frozen spinach for topping in a heatproof container and microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes to thaw.

Finely chop 40g of pork belly for the broth and add it to the water in the pot. This becomes the base of the broth. Next, roughly cut 16g of garlic into about 3 pieces and add it, along with just a little ginger, 3-4g. There's no need to mince them since they will be blended later.

Add 1 teaspoon of chicken stock powder (for 2 servings), 2/3 teaspoon of bonito dashi, and 4 teaspoons of powdered gelatin (2 packets). The gelatin gives you Yamaokaya's signature rich broth that turns jiggly when chilled.

Cover and set over heat; once it comes to a boil, reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Without the lid the water evaporates and the broth becomes too concentrated. Never skim the scum, as it carries the pork flavor.

While it simmers, cut the large sheets of roasted nori into large pieces. Nori is important at Yamaokaya, so cut it big.

Lightly squeeze the water out of the thawed spinach. It releases quite a lot of liquid, so a light squeeze gets it ready to go on the ramen.

Blend the broth after its 10-minute simmer, completely pulverizing the pork, garlic, and ginger along with it. The rendered fat and fibers from the meat emulsify, giving the color and body of Yamaokaya's signature broth, like a tonkotsu simmered for 3 days.

Add 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 2 pinches of salt, 8 shakes of pepper, 6 shakes of garlic powder, and 10 shakes of Ajinomoto to the blended broth and stir. Once mixed, the color is exactly like Yamaokaya's.

Put 2 tablespoons of lard directly into the bowls and microwave for about 2 minutes to melt the lard while warming the bowls. When making 2 servings the broth gets divided, so putting the lard in the pot would distribute it unevenly.

Boil the noodles for about 2 1/2 minutes, keeping them firm, then drain.

Pour the broth into the bowls with the melted lard and add the drained noodles. Arrange the noodles so they lift up slightly, then top with the spinach, chashu, chopped scallions, and roasted nori to finish.