The  in the title means this recipe is part of the Hideout ramen series. You need to prepare toppings and noodles to make it a full dish! All relevant recipes linked below.

Maybe I’ve been the pig all along.

A Patron after their 3rd bowl

All in a day’s work

You’ll prepare three liquids for this recipe: the bone broth (which needs to boil all day); the dashi (which in this case should be cold-brewed); and the tare (a salty sauce that is added to each bowl in small amounts at the very end).

As you can see in the photo, the final broth should come out very cloudy. This photo was taken after I had strained it through a fine mesh already to remove larger debris. If you, like me, don’t have a pressure cooker, you need to simmer your Tonkotsu broth all day (or overnight) for a result like this. I recommend starting the broth in the morning and leaving it to boil for about 8 hours, then preparing your ramen bowls for dinner. Check in regularly during that time, and don’t forget that there is an extra hour of simmering time with additional ingredients at the end.

The tricky part of this recipe is getting the right amount of broth in the end. You want to evaporate just enough to go from ~3 liters to ~1.8 liters (4 servings), which is hard to judge with all the bones filling up the pot. One serving of broth in my recipe is about 450 ml, which is on the higher end; if your broth comes out at 350 ml per bowl, that’s totally fine as well. Keep in mind that you’ll add 500 ml of dashi in the final hour of boiling.

If it looks like you’re getting close to about 40% of the liquid having evaporated, just add a lid for the remainder of the time. If you believe that you already overshot, it’s totally fine to top up with more water – provided you don’t do it very close to the end. I wouldn’t recommend turning down the heat to reduce evaporation, as a strong boil is needed (for at least a good portion of the time) to break down the pork bones.

BYOB (Build Your Own Bowl)

This recipe presupposes that you already have a number of toppings as well as the noodles ready to go. When it comes to preparing those things, I recommend staggering the workload and making larger amounts, so you can at least enjoy a few ramen dinners as a result of your efforts. Most of the various components linked below last well in the freezer, or at least a few days in the fridge.

Here’s how I recommend building your perfect bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen:

• Make chashu days or weeks ahead of time. Cut it, freeze it in portions. After thawing, blowtorch it.
• Make fresh ramen noodles at least a day before. Keep in the fridge (or freezer if the wait is longer).
• Marinate some ramen eggs and prepare menma at least a day before. Keep in the fridge.
• If you want to have Tonkotsu Ramen for dinner, start the broth in the morning on that day.

This recipe is strictly about making the broth and putting together the prepared toppings at the end. However, it’s always nice to slap on some additional easy toppings, such as kizami nori and sliced spring onions. I also like to add some microgreens such as garden cress.

Confidential seasonings

Be warned: The flavor of Tonkotsu is intensely porky – if you’re not a huge pork fan, maybe go with another broth (or just a sauce). Adding sake and vinegar takes away a bit of the sharpness, both of the smell and flavor, among other additional seasonings that subtly improve the end result. The Japanese have a term for them, kakushiaji, which roughly translates to “secret ingredients”. I’ve seen variations of them all over the Internet, with some recipes leaving them out completely. I quite like the selection made by the Just One Cookbook recipe, and stuck with it exactly.

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Just One Cookbook Tonkotsu recipe. In this case, I changed the measurements and timings quite drastically. I don’t own a pressure cooker, and adding just half a liter of water and two more hours of boiling, as the recipe suggests, does not yield the desired results at all. I’ve tried different amounts of water, different simmering times, and different ways to cover the pot to get it right.

The best Tonkotsu ramen I’ve ever had was at its birthplace, Fukuoka. We went to a Taiho Ramen location and had two variations – regular Tonkotsu and Kurume, which is a classic way to prepare the broth (named after the town it’s said to have originated from). Both were great, but the Kurume was hands down the best ramen broth I ever tasted.

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Tonkotsu Ramen

A deep and intense pork broth that needs a full day of boiling for ideal results.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Boiling time8 hours hrs

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 4 bowls

Equipment

• 1 very large pot with a lid
• 1 large mesh strainer for straining the broth
• 1 additional medium to large pot for straining the broth into
• 1 fine-mesh skimmer

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

Broth

• 1.5 kg pork bones legs or back
• 600 g pork hock with skin
• 3 l water
• 1 head garlic
• 1 knob ginger large

Dashi

• 500 ml water
• 1 sheet kombu
• 2 shiitake mushrooms dried
• 5 dried anchovies or some katsuobushi

Tare

• 2 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 4 tbsp soy sauce light
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 sheet kombu
• 25 g salt

Seasonings

• 1 onion medium
• 2 green onions
• 10 g katsuobushi
• 2 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar

Instructions

Make the broth

• Rinse the bones and pork hock under running water.
• Soak them in a bowl of water for a total of 15 minutes, replacing the water completely every 5 minutes.
• Peel the outermost layer off your head of garlic, then cut the entire head in half crosswise.
• Slice the ginger into thin slices. No need to peel.
• Place the cleaned bones, garlic, and ginger into a very large pot and add 3 liters of water. The ingredients should be fully submerged.
• Set to high heat and keep the lid off for now.
• Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium-high and keep at a rolling boil.
• Remove the scum using a fine-mesh skimmer. You'll need to do this multiple times (over the first half hour or so) before it stops gathering at the surface.
• The broth takes about 8 hours from here on out, but you need to check back regularly. Make sure that the broth is boiling (not just simmering) for a majority of that time.
• Once about 40% of the liquid has evaporated, cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat down a little. If you overshoot, you can top up with some water until the bones are fully covered again (but try to avoid this).
• Start the dashi cold brew (next steps) right after you started the broth. The tare and additional seasonings don't need to be ready until the 8 hours are up.

Cold brew the dashi

• Add the kombu, dried shiitake mushrooms, dried anchovies, and 500 ml of water to a small bowl.
• Keep at room temperature while your soup stock boils.

Make the tare

• Combine sake, mirin, soy sauce, kombu, and water in a small pot.
• Set to medium heat. Once it simmers, reduce to low and keep simmering for 3-4 minutes.
• Add the salt and stir well until it's fully dissolved.
• Set aside at room temperature.

Prepare seasonings

• Cut the onion in half and slice off the root end. No need to peel.
• Also cut the green onions in half crosswise.

Combine everything

• After the 8 hours are up, remove the lid. Make sure it's at a rolling boil throughout the remaining steps.
• Add the halved onion and green onions, rice vinegar, and sake to the pot.
• Take the shiitake mushrooms and anchovies out of your dashi cold brew and add them to the broth.
• Add 10 g katsuobushi and keep boiling for 30 minutes.
• Now add the dashi liquid (without the kombu) to the pot and boil for another 30 minutes.
• Careful not to let too much liquid evaporate. You want about 450 ml of broth per bowl (1.8 l for 4 servings), so put the lid back on the pot for the remaining time once you're in that ballpark.

Strain the broth

• I recommend putting your ramen bowls as well as the prepared toppings into the oven now and setting it to 75°C so they're all warm and ready to go in time.
• Take out another medium to large pot to strain the broth into and place a large mesh strainer on top.
• Take the solids out of the broth and squeeze them on the strainer (e.g. using a spatula) in order to extract the liquid into the new pot. Do this in small batches.
• Finally, pour the broth through the strainer, and squeeze any remaining solids that get caught in it.

Assemble

• Heat up the desired amount of broth servings (450 ml per person) in a pot and keep at a low simmer.
• Bring salted water to a boil for your noodles. I recommend keeping the servings separate by using one pot per serving.
• Take out the bowls and add 1 tbsp tare to each one.
• Add 450 ml of broth to each bowl.
• Boil your fresh ramen noodles. I recommend staggering them by a minute so they're not done exactly at once.
• Carefully add a serving of noodles to each bowl. If you want a nicer presentation, pull them out of the broth from the middle using chopsticks, then lay them down to the side so they're aligned in one direction.
• Add the ramen toppings of your choice and serve immediately.

The  in the title means this recipe is part of the Hideout ramen series. You need to prepare toppings and noodles to make it a full dish! All relevant recipes linked below.

Brothless ramen? More like left-me-breathless ramen.

A Patron

Even though I love ramen, I’m not really a soup guy. Eating it is always a mess, and the slurping noises are irritating. The broth is usually piping hot, yet you have to hurry before it overcooks the noodles into mush. All the toppings quickly get soaked and lose their texture, especially fried ones. Not to mention the fact that a proper broth can take hours to make (such as my beloved Tonkotsu).

Abura Soba solves all of these problems. No mess, no soggy toppings, no slurping or burning your mouth, and the noodles stay nice and chewy until the very last bite. It might just be my favorite way to enjoy ramen. And just to be clear: This does mean classic ramen noodles. The term “soba” often refers to buckwheat noodles, but not in this instance.

BYOB (Build Your Own Bowl)

While skipping the broth does cut down on the preparation time, I won’t lie to you: By the time you’re ready to serve up this dish, you will have spent about a full work day in the kitchen. This is why I recommend staggering the workload and making larger amounts of everything, so you can at least enjoy a few ramen dinners as a result of your efforts. Most of the various components linked below last well in the freezer, or at least a few days in the fridge.

Here’s how I recommend building your perfect bowl of Abura Soba:

• Make chashu days or weeks ahead of time. Cut it, freeze it in portions. After thawing, blowtorch it.
• Make fresh ramen noodles at least a day before. Keep in the fridge (or freezer if the wait is longer).
• Marinate some ramen eggs and prepare menma at least a day before. Keep in the fridge.
• On the day of, follow the recipe below. (The garlic paste can also be made a day before.)

This recipe is strictly about the sauce and putting together the prepared toppings. However, it’s always nice to slap on some additional easy toppings, such as kizami nori and sliced spring onions. I also like to add some microgreens such as garden cress. A sprinkle of La-Yu (chili oil) or Togarashi (spice mix) also never hurt anyone. If you have any of those handy, I highly recommend!

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the sudachi Recipes Abura Soba. In this case, I’ve made quite a few adjustments to the process, including coating the noodles in the sauce first. This is how I’ve seen it done in Japan, and I much prefer it over having the sauce sit at the bottom of the bowl.

During my two-month stay in Tokyo in the summer of 2025, I ate out almost every day. The abura soba at Musashino Abura Gakukai Main Store in Waseda may have been my favorite meal of the entire trip. If you’re ever in the area, I cannot recommend it enough; I don’t know about their other locations, but they’re probably great as well.

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Abura Soba

Ramen without the broth! No soaked toppings, burned tongue, or overcooked noodles – and no endless hours spent simmering bones. Give Abura Soba a shot, and it might just dethrone your favorite ramen.

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 4 bowls

Equipment

• 1 pestle & mortar if making fresh garlic paste

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• 50 ml oyster sauce
• 50 ml light soy sauce
• 25 ml water
• 25 ml rice vinegar
• 20 ml toasted sesame oil
• 0.25 tsp chicken stock powder
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 2 tsp lard

Garlic paste

• 45 g garlic cloves
• 1.5 tsp neutral oil e.g. sunflower oil
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

Make garlic paste

• Note: You can alternatively buy garlic paste from a tube, but fresh is better.
• Peel the garlic cloves and add to your mortar.
• Add the oil and salt.
• Slowly crush the garlic with your pestle and keep going until it's a smooth paste.

  Note: If making ahead of time, store it in a plastic container in your fridge.

Prepare sauce & bowls

• Pre-heat your oven to 75°C.
• Take out the bowls you will serve your ramen in.
• Put half a tsp of lard into each bowl.
• Thoroughly mix all the other sauce ingredients in a separate bowl, including the freshly made garlic paste (which should be around 5 tsp).
• Evenly distribute the sauce to your bowls.
• Put the bowls in the warm oven and leave them in there for a few minutes. The lard should fully melt, and the bowls should be hot enough to keep the ramen warm for a while.

Assemble

• While the bowls are heating up, boil your fresh ramen noodles. I recommend keeping the servings separate and using several pots, staggering them by a minute so they're not done at once.
• Add one serving of noodles to each warm bowl. Stir briefly to coat them in the sauce, be careful not to break them.

  Note: Look, I know the bowl is all smeared and the noodles are tangled. If you prefer folding the noodles neatly and pouring over the sauce for aesthetic reasons, I'm not going to stop you.
• Add the ramen toppings of your choice and serve immediately.

The  in the title means this recipe is part of the Hideout ramen series, not a standalone dish!

Funny quote

A Patron

Big disclaimer first: Actual menma, or sǔnsī in Chinese, tastes a little different. The bamboo shoots used in the Hideout recipe are what I was able to find in Europe. I suppose I could be drying and lacto-fermenting bamboo shoots at home, but that’s a bit much even for me. This is why I sought out an alternative way to prepare it, and found this approach by Sudachi Recipes that I ended up making numerous times.

Depending on the chili powder used, this ramen topping can pack quite a bit of spice. I personally use spicy cayenne chili powder, which I highly recommend if you enjoy some heat.

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Sudachi Menma recipe. I’ve since practiced it many times, made changes to the ingredients and steps (sometimes very few, sometimes many), and written up as much additional advice as I could based on my own experience.

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Menma

Spicy, crunchy bamboo shoots – the ideal palate cleanser in-between bites of ramen.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• 200 g canned bamboo shoots pre-sliced, drained weight
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder desired spiciness
• 180 ml water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 0.5 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder

Instructions

• Open up and drain the can of bamboo slices.
• Add half the toasted sesame oil to a small pan, heat up over medium heat.
• Once hot, add the sliced bamboo shoots.
• Sprinkle with black pepper and chili powder and stir to distribute.
• After one minute, add the water, soy sauce, sake, mirin, oyster sauce, and chicken stock powder. Mix well.
• Simmer uncovered until there is no liquid left.
• Turn off the heat and drizzle the other half of the toasted sesame oil on the bamboo shoots. Mix well.
• Once cool, they're ready to distribute and serve as a ramen topping. Alternatively, transfer the menma to a container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

The  in the title means this recipe is part of the Hideout ramen series, not a standalone dish!

What came first, the ramen or the egg?

The Chef

Do yourself a favor and upgrade your ramen with marinated rather than just boiled eggs. They keep in the fridge for a few days, and are a great fit with any type of ramen. Not much else to say about this one – it’s super quick and basically foolproof!

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Just One Cookbook Ramen Eggs recipe. In this case, I didn’t change all that much, as the recipe is very straightforward. One thing I disagree with: You can keep the eggs in the marinade for multiple days! For my taste, they do not get too salty.

At this point in the post, I usually shout out a specific place that nails this dish. I can’t say that any place has ever stood out to me due to their ramen eggs, so instead, here are some special ramen spots around Tokyo that I recommend: Matsudo Tomita Memban in Chiyoda (dipping ramen), Ramen Nagi in Shinjuku (sardine-based broth), Menya Musashi Kodo in Kichijoji (meat-lover’s ramen), Tokyo Ebi Tomato in Waseda (tomato-based broth), Musashino Abura Gakukai Main Store in Waseda (abura soba), Kyushu Jangara in Akihabara (Tonkotsu ramen), Usagi in Shibuya (truffle ramen).

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Ramen Eggs

Marinated eggs are the most classic and widespread ramen topping for a reason. Very quick and easy, just five ingredients!

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Marinating time12 hours hrs

Servings: 4 eggs

Equipment

• 1 small freezer bag or similar, recommended

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• 4 eggs large
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 60 ml mirin
• 60 ml sake
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

Boil the eggs

• Add enough water to a small pot to cover your eggs plus 2-3 cm.
• Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. If the eggs bounce around in the water, their shells may crack.
• Gently lower the eggs into the water individually, e.g. using a small sieve.
• Leave them to simmer for 7 minutes for a waxy yolk (recommended for ramen eggs). If you like them runnier or firmer, shorten to 5-6 or extend to 8-9 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare a bowl of cold water, ideally add some ice to cool it down further.
• After the 7 minutes, fish the eggs out of the pot and lower into the cold water. Wait 15 minutes until they're cooled off.

Make the marinade

• While you wait, combine the four marinade ingredients in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
• Once it boils, turn the heat down and simmer for one minute.
• Turn off the heat and let the marinade cool completely.

Peel & marinate

• Once the eggs are cool, I recommend peeling each one as follows.
• Gently tap and roll the eggs against the inside of the bowl, still under water, to crack the shell.
• Peel off the shell and skin under water. Set aside and repeat.
• Place the peeled eggs in a small plastic bag, e.g. a 1 liter freezer bag.
• Slowly pour in all the cooled marinade.
• Press out any air so the eggs are fully covered in marinade, then close the bag with a clip or rubber band. Place the bag in a small bowl, then move to the fridge.

Rest & serve

• Let them marinate overnight or even up to a few days.

  Note: They get saltier over time, so if you want to prevent that, take them out of the marinade after the first night.
• Take them out of the fridge right before serving your ramen. It's fine that they're cold.
• I recommend cutting each egg in half before adding it as a ramen topping.

  Note: Use a very sharp knife so the egg isn't squished, and the egg white doesn't break.

The  in the title means this recipe is part of the Hideout ramen series, not a standalone dish!

Is this even related to instant ramen?

A Patron

I’ve had a lot of ramen in my life, and nothing decides over the quality of a bowl quite like the noodles do. Whether dried or from the fridge, store-bought noodles do not hold a candle to a freshly made batch.

Like the Italians do

I have a decades-old, hand-cranked pasta maker at home, which I use for Italian pasta as well as ramen noodles. The sheeting rollers – I believe that’s the term – are used to flatten the dough into a sheet before they are cut into noodles. My pasta maker ranges from 1 (thickest) to 9 (thinnest), and I’ve found that 2 is ideal for ramen.

A lot of recipes call for feeding the dough sheet through the machine many times, folding it in on itself in between, in order to make the dough more uniform. While this may have some benefits, I’ve gotten away with feeding it through the thickest setting just once and then once more using the target thickness – no repeats or without even folding it over. The noodles still turned out great.

The two cutters underneath the sheeting rollers produce wider and narrower noodles, roughly corresponding to tagliatelle and spaghetti respectively. I’ve used both settings for ramen, but the spaghetti cut is more typical, and I liked the end result slightly better. The ideal cooking time for each was 2 minutes.

Feeding the sheet through the top while cranking the handle and catching the noodles underneath requires three hands, so I recommend getting a helper for this step. Whenever I do it alone, I place a lightly dusted plate or bowl underneath to catch the noodles for me.

Divide & flatten

You may be surprised at how dry and tough ramen dough is when you first make it, but I urge you to trust the process and avoid adding more water. Yes, it is brittle and tiring to knead, but at least it’s much less prone to sticking to itself than the wetter Italian pasta dough. If you don’t have a rolling pin, it’s an exhausting process to get the dough thin enough to feed into your pasta maker. The good news is that you can cheat a little since only the end that goes in first needs to be thin enough. If the rest is still fairly thick, you’ll have to crank the handle a little harder to squeeze it through the sheeting rollers.

To be perfectly honest, I’ve indicated one hour of dough resting time because other recipes do. I was in a hurry once and only waited 20 minutes, which seemed to have no adverse impact on the dough. Another time I let it rest for about 90 minutes, which was just as good. If you leave it to rest for longer, make sure it doesn’t dry out by covering it with a damp cloth.

Consistency is key

Some recipes call for washing the noodles in hot water right after boiling in order to remove excess starch. You can do this if you prefer, but it’s not mandatory. I actually don’t recommend washing off the starch if you’re making Abura Soba (brothless ramen), since it mixes with the sauce and helps it stick to the noodles.

Keeping the noodles in the fridge for up to five days doesn’t seem to impact their quality much, if at all. Keep each serving in a separate bag, and make sure to dust the noodles generously beforehand so they don’t stick together. If they do once you take them out for boiling, just pull and wiggle them apart gently so they don’t clump up in the water.

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Red House Spice Alkaline Ramen Noodles recipe. I’ve since practiced it many times, made changes to the ingredients and steps (sometimes very few, sometimes many), and written up as much additional advice as I could based on my own experience.

The first time I made ramen noodles myself was at a cooking class in Tokyo’s Kappabashi street, specifically at Sobagiri Rakujyo. We cut the ramen noodles with a sobakiri cleaver, which is usually reserved for soba noodles. While those knives look really cool and are fun to handle, the pasta maker method is more consistent and convenient.

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Ramen Noodles

Fresh noodles for any type of ramen, guaranteed to taste 100 times better than their dried counterpart!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• 1 pasta maker with spaghetti or tagliatelle setting
• 1 Rolling Pin strongly recommended
• 1 dough cutter recommended
• 4 freezer bags or similar for storage (if needed)

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• 500 g all-purpose flour
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 210 ml water room temperature
• 1.5 tsp lye water
• some corn starch for dusting

Instructions

Make the dough

• Mix flour and salt in a mid-sized bowl.
• Mix the water and lye water in a measuring jug.
• Slowly pour the water into the bowl with flour, stirring constantly using chopsticks.
• Knead the dough until the water is evenly incorporated.

  Note that this dough is very dry and will not come out looking smooth. That's fine!
• Cover with a damp cloth and leave it to rest at room temperature for about an hour.

Divide, flatten, cut

• Briefly knead again, then divide into four equal portions using a dough cutter. Each portion should come out to 175–180g.

  Repeat the following steps for each of them. Reference pictures above!
• Shape the dough into an oval so it comes out long and narrow once you flatten it.
• Using a rolling pin (recommended) or your hands, flatten it enough to fit through your pasta maker on the widest setting.
• Feed it through the pasta maker's sheeting rollers on the widest setting, then fold it over once and feed it through again.
• Decrease the thickness to your desired level and feed the dough sheet through one more time.

  My pasta maker ranges from 1 (thickest) to 9 (thinnest). I've found that 2 is the perfect thickness for ramen noodles.
• Lightly dust the dough sheet in corn starch.
• Feed the dough sheet through the pasta maker's spaghetti cutter. Make sure the noodles land safely underneath, or have someone help you catch them.
• If you are storing the noodles for later, dust them again with starch to prevent them from sticking together, then put in a freezer bag (or similar). Keep in the fridge uncooked for up to 5 days. When you take them out for cooking, gently untangle them again to prevent clumping up in the water.

Cook the noodles

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• Add the noodles and keep the stove on maximum heat so the water comes back to a boil quickly.
• Keep the noodles in the water for exactly two minutes, then take them out and drain well.
• Use immediately in the ramen bowl of your choice!

The in the title means this recipe is part of the Hideout ramen series, not a standalone dish!

More like cha-ching!

The Chef, TASTING HIS OWN Creation

This is the first entry in my new series all about ramen toppings, and I’m kicking it off with my favorite of them all. Chashu is definitely more involved than the others, but both the taste and the yield make it absolutely worth it. From a 1 kg slab, you get around 16 to 20 slices, and they keep in the freezer for at least a month if vacuumed (picture below – but you can also freeze the whole log this way). Having some pre-portioned homemade toppings handy has often saved me time cooking, as I used them to upgrade instant ramen, which is just about the fastest and easiest dinner in the world.

I have to admit that it took me years to realize that the Japanese word chāshū is based on the Chinese char siu. However, the two are prepared in quite different ways, and while char siu can be made from a variety of cuts, chashu should be pork belly.

As for the aromatics, you often see Tokyo negi in recipes, which I substituted with green onions. They’re apparently not quite the same, but based on what I’ve tasted so far, it makes a negligible difference for the final taste. I cannot find Tokyo negi here in Europe, and while I’ve been able to grow some plants such as shiso and mitsuba myself, I can’t even find the seeds for it.

Pork shibari

The cut of pork belly you want for this recipe should come without bones and without the tough outer skin, but removing either or both is not very difficult – provided you have a somewhat sharp knife. It can be hard to see if there are bones in the fat, as they’re the same white color. I’ve actually often had no choice but to buy a piece that the packaging claimed contained bones, and ended up finding that it didn’t contain any. The tough skin can be easily cut off by making small slices while pulling it back from the other side; make sure to remove a minimal amount of extra fat along with it.

Regarding the right technique of tying it up once it’s rolled, I’ve seen some elaborate descriptions and videos online, but there’s really not much that can go wrong. Just make sure it’s tight, and it will keep the form. If there’s some overhanging meat that you can’t tie up on one side because the cut has an uneven width, even that part will retain its shape after hours of simmering and overnight marinating.

Sear, simmer, marinate

In order to brown the chashu properly, I recommend putting a cast-iron pan over very high heat and searing the hell out of it. Before you begin, open all nearby windows before you get started, and move any overzealous smoke detectors out of range.

Once browned, chashu needs to simmer for two hours. In the center picture, you can see the Japanese drop lid (or otoshibuta) that I bought in Tokyo last summer. You can get these online around the world (and I’m surprised they’re not more prevalent in most cooking cultures), but it’s not essential to have one for this dish. Just leave the regular lid of your pot slightly open, and every time you come to flip the chashu, make sure that the liquid isn’t evaporating too quickly.

For the overnight marinating step, just take however much liquid you need to cover the chashu inside the container or bag of your choice. Use the leftover broth to marinate ramen eggs!

The morning after

When you cut the butcher’s twine and pull it off, do it slowly so as not to rip out any of the surrounding meat. At this stage, I also like to wipe off larger chunks of fat that accumulated on the outside while marinating. As you cut the meat, make sure the slices are even and just a few millimeters thick.

Light ‘er up!

I’ve been to ramen places that barely brown their chashu or skip this step entirely, but in my opinion, it’s mandatory for a good result. If you don’t have a blowtorch, maybe you can try approximating it with your oven’s grill setting – but I doubt it comes out similar to the mellow texture, roasted flavors, and blistering fat you get from a hot open flame.

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Just One Cookbook recipe for rolled Chashu. I‘ve since practiced it many times, made changes to the ingredients and steps (sometimes very few, sometimes many), and written up as much additional advice as I could based on my own experience.

At this point in the post, I usually shout out a place where I had a particularly great version of the dish, but since chashu is just a component of ramen, let me instead recommend the place with the best Tonkotsu ramen I’ve ever had: Taiho Ramen, specifically the Fukuoka branch I visited a few summers ago. No surprise there, since Fukuoka is where Tonkotsu ramen originated!

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Chashu

A cut of pork belly that is rolled up, seared, simmered, marinated, and then torched. It's savory, it's sweet, and it melts in your mouth. Arguably the best ramen topping ever conceived.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time2 hours hrs

Marinating time8 hours hrs

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 16 slices

Equipment

• 1 kitchen burner highly recommended
• some butcher's twine aka cooking string; mandatory
• 1 otoshibuta optional

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 kg pork belly one piece w/o bones, rind removed
• 3 green onions
• 1 knob ginger
• 1 tbsp neutral oil for searing

Braising liquid

• 250 ml sake
• 250 ml soy sauce
• 500 ml water
• 130 g sugar

Instructions

Prep the pork belly

• If your pork belly comes with the tough outer skin, remove it slowly with a sharp knife, making sure not to take away too much additional fat.
• Lay out the pork belly in front of you, with the long side along the edge of your table or counter (i.e. from left to right). The side facing upward should be white fat.
• Now firmly grab the pork belly and roll it up along the short side, away from you.
• Run some butcher's twine along one end and tie it tightly together. From there, wrap it around the log numerous times in tight increments until you reach the other side. Run it around that end as well and tie it up once more (optional). Repeat the process in the other direction. Cut off the ball of butcher's twine and tie up any loose ends on the pork belly with one another.

  Note: This is not an exact science. The main point is that you keep it tight at all times and have a tied-up log in the end. It will keep its shape later, don't worry!

Sear the pork belly

• Heat up the neutral oil in a pan or skillet (I recommend cast-iron for ideal browning). Open a window because things are about to get smoky.
• Once the oil is hot, sear the pork belly from all sides, rotating occasionally.
• After about 10 minutes, once it's browned on all sides, remove from the heat.

Braise the pork belly

• Cut the knob of ginger into 5mm thick cuts. No need to peel it.
• Cut the green onion into 3-4 slices each.
• In a heavy mid-sized pot (aka Dutch oven), mix all the braising liquid ingredients and give them a stir so the sugar doesn't settle at the bottom.
• Place the pork belly in it. It should be at least 75% covered; if not, top up with some water.
• Add the sliced ginger and green onions.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat. If scum gathers at the surface, skim it off with a fine-mesh strainer.
• If you have a Japanese drop lid (otoshibuta), put it on top to reduce evaporation. If not, it's fine to use the pot's regular lid and leave it open just a little.
• Regulate the heat so it stays at a low boil and let it simmer for two hours. Come back every 30 minutes to turn the chashu so it's evenly cooked and infused.

Rest overnight

• Take the pot off the heat and let it cool off for a bit.
• Take out the chashu and place it in a plastic bag (ideal) or container.
• Add enough of the braising liquid so the chashu is fully covered.
• Once fully cooled off, place it in the fridge to marinate for at least 8 hours.

  Note: You can use any leftover liquid to marinate ramen eggs.

Prepare for ramen

• Take the chashu out of the fridge and remove it from the bag/container.

  Optional: Wipe off loose fat that's gathered on the outside.
• Using kitchen scissors, cut through the thread and carefully pull it it off.
• Lay the chashu log down on a board and start cutting it into slices using a long, sharp knife. They should be a few mm thick, totaling around 16 for a 1 kg piece.
• Lay them out on a fireproof surface and torch with a kitchen burner until nicely browned. If you're feeling motivated, flip them around and torch the other side as well.
• Your chashu is ready to serve as a ramen topping! I recommend using 2-3 per bowl.

  If you have more than you need right now, I recommend freezing them in vacuum bags. They should be good to eat for at least a month.

Omunaisu!

A Patron

First rice, then omu

This recipe is very quick and simple. Just chop some onions and chicken, toss it with cooked rice and seasonings. Then make the omelets, divide the filling and wrap it in them. This is the very popular home-cooked version that a lot of Japanese kids have grown up with.

80g of dry rice per serving may not look like much, but trust me that it’ll be quite filling. Just make sure to pop it in the rice cooker ahead of time, or use up leftover rice.

Lvl 1 vs. lvl 99 Omurice

There is a flashier version of it that is much harder to get right. You may have seen viral videos of an omelet being placed on top of a mound of rice and then cut open. Even though the egg looks cooked, it’s still very runny on the inside and spills out in a very satisfying way. Kyoto-based Kichi Kichi Omurice is probably the most online-famous restaurant for this variety of Omurice, thanks in large part to its upbeat, pink-haired chef.

There are many variations of both the sauce and filling out there, but this Ketchup-based recipe is probably the most classic and simple. Feel free to fill it with whatever you like; for example, I recommend adding some shredded cheese to the filling right before wrapping it in the egg.

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Just One Cookbook Omurice recipe. In this case, I adjusted the ratio of ingredients quite drastically, and simplified a lot of the steps.

In Japan, I’ve only had Omurice once so far, meeting a friend in Yokohama at Pomme Tree a few years back. I can’t say that it was particularly outstanding, but it did open my eyes to the large variety of Omurice fillings and sauces out there.

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Omurice (Omuraisu)

Chicken, rice, ketchup, nice!

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Rice cooking time40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

Chicken rice

• 1 yellow onion small
• 200 g chicken legs no skin or bones
• 160 g Japanese short-grain rice uncooked amount
• 70 g cooked peas canned
• 15 g butter

Chicken rice seasonings

• 0.5 tsp salt
• some black pepper freshly ground
• 75 ml ketchup plus more for topping!
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Omelets

• 4 eggs large
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 30 g butter

Instructions

Prepare ingredients

• Start cooking your rice and return to the kitchen 10-15 minutes before it's done.
• Cut the chicken into pieces 2 cm wide and long, removing any fat in the process.
• Peel and finely mince the onion.

Make the chicken rice

• Heat up 1 tbsp (15g) of butter over medium-high heat.
• Once it's fully melted, add the onion and sauté until translucent.
• Add the chicken to the pan, season with the salt (0.5 tsp) and pepper.
• Fry until the chicken is no longer pink, flipping it regularly.
• Reduce the heat to medium, then add the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
• Stir to mix well and fry for another 2-3 minutes to reduce moisture.
• Add the cooked rice and break up the clumps.
• Add the peas.
• Mix well and divide the chicken rice into however many servings you are making.
• Turn the heat to very low to keep it warm.

Make the omelet(s)

• You need to make and stuff the omelets one at a time. If desired, turn your oven to low heat to keep the first serving(s) of omurice warm as you're making the rest.
• Crack two eggs in a bowl and add 0.25 tsp of salt.
• Beat thoroughly to break the egg whites.
• Heat up 1 tbsp of butter in a pan over medium heat.
• Once it's hot and starts to bubble (but not brown), pour in the beaten egg.
• Tilt the pan to distribute the egg evenly and fry it until still slightly runny. Turn the heat off so it doesn't cook fully.

Assemble

• Transfer one serving of chicken rice from the other pan onto the omelet.
• Mold it into a small mound that runs along the middle from one side of the pan to the other, at a 90-degree angle to the handle.
• Slide it away from the handle by tilting the pan.
• Carefully fold the sides of the omelet over it. The lower side should be folded up naturally by the side of the pan.
• Flip the omelet on a plate in a quick, but smooth motion.
• It should be the shape of a rugby ball. If it isn't, mold it with your spatula or hands, but don't burn yourself.
• If desired, put it in the pre-heated oven while you make the other omelets.
• Drizzle some ketchup on top of the omelet(s) in a zigzag motion and keep the bottle handy at the table. Enjoy!

Eggs? In this okonomi?

The Chef

Grill, baby, grill

This recipe works best on an electric grill with a stainless steel surface. It allows you to easily control the heat, maintain the shape of the okonomiyaki using metal spatulas (pictured), and make at least two at a time even on a moderately-sized grill. You can also make them in a regular pan on an electric stove, or preferably in two pans to speed up the process.

Speaking of the time it takes to fry the okonomiyaki, I struggled with this recipe the first few times I made it because the batter just would not cook all the way through, remaining wet and soggy for what felt like 30+ minutes per pancake. I was literally about to give up on the recipe, but then I added the step of dehydrating the cabbage, which solved the problem immediately. I haven’t seen this step in other recipes online, and I frankly don’t know how they work without it.

Better batter?

Tenkasu (tempura scraps) is one of those ingredients I’ve never seen at a store around here. It’s supposed to be available pre-packaged in bags, and if you can find it, go for it. However, if you can’t, I frankly don’t think it’s worth the hassle to make it at home. Even though it’s apparently a classic ingredient (in Takoyaki as well), serving to make the pancake fluffier and enrich its taste, I can’t say it makes that much of a difference. If you do want to make your own, thoroughly mix 30g of tempura batter mix with 60ml of cold water. Heat up neutral oil in a pan or saucepan (at least 1cm deep) to 180°C. Dip your chopsticks in the batter and drip it into the oil. Fry for half a minute, fish out the fried dough, and shake off excess oil. Store on some paper towels. Rinse and repeat until all the dough is fried. This should yield around 50g of tenkasu.

Dont’ yuck my yam

Nagaimo (aka Japanese mountain yam or Chinese yam) helps with the consistency and integrity of the pancakes. It’s very slimy and it lightly irritates the skin, so be careful when grating it. This recipe originally contained nagaimo, but since it’s hard to find internationally, I’ve since scrapped it. The updated batter ingredients are battle-tested and guaranteed to yield the right consistently regardless.

As-you-like-yaki

The toppings I listed are classics, and I highly recommend them all. However, you can remove, swap, add anything you like – “okonomi” means “as you like” after all. The same goes for adding stuff to the batter, by the way. Seafood is a popular addition. I added octopus pieces in the past, for example.

Of course, it’s also easy to turn this recipe vegetarian: Just use vegetarian dashi for the batter, and leave out the bacon and katsuobushi.

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Just One Cookbook Okonomiyaki recipe. I’ve since practiced it many times, made changes to the ingredients and steps (sometimes very few, sometimes many), and written up as much additional advice as I could based on my own experience.

I learned the additional step of dehydrating the cabbage at a street food cooking class in Hamburg. Finally, I want to shout out Moegi in Osaka, where I first had Okonomiyaki in its place of origin and truly discovered its variety.

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5 from 1 vote

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Okonomiyaki

Thick savory pancakes with cabbage, bacon, and various flexible toppings!

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Resting time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 2 people

Equipment

• 1 electric grill & metal spatulas optional; regular pan also works

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

For the batter (1st stage)

• 120 g all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp white sugar
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 125 ml dashi stock e.g. using instant powder
• 2 eggs

For the batter (2nd stage)

• 0.25 head green (aka white) cabbage ~350g per pancake
• 1 tbsp coarse salt
• 50 g beni shoga optional
• 50 g tenkasu optional
• some neutral oil for frying / grilling

Toppings (recommendations)

• 150 g bacon slices
• some okonomi sauce
• some Kewpie mayonnaise
• some aonori
• some katsuobushi
• some beni shoga

Instructions

Prepare the batter (1st stage)

• Make the dashi broth according to package instructions of your instant powder. (If you make 2 or more pancakes, don't be afraid to simply use a whole sachet.)
• Combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl.
• Slowly pour in the dashi while mixing thoroughly.
• Crack in the two eggs and keep mixing until it's a uniform batter.
• Store it in the fridge.

Cut & drain the cabbage

• Wash the cabbage, then slice into pieces of 1-2cm width and length. To achieve this, remove the tough stem, cut into slices and then slice them again lengthwise.
• In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the coarse salt into the cabbage.
• Let the batter and cabbage rest for at least one hour.
• After an hour or more, pour out the extracted water from the bowl of cabbage.
• Place the cabbage in the middle of a large, clean kitchen towel.
• Fold up the ends of the towel around the cabbage and twist over your sink.
• Squeeze out as much water as you can (but be careful not to rip the towel). Afterwards, the cabbage should weigh very roughly 350g per serving.

Prepare the batter (2nd stage)

• Take the batter mix out of the fridge.
• Mix in the cabbage, and optional beni shoga and tenkasu as well as any other batter ingredients you may want to add, such as seafood.
• Stir thoroughly.

Make the okonomiyaki

• Have your toppings handy, as they will be added right at the end of this step.
• If using bacon, slice it into ~10cm long strips.
• Heat up some neutral oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat or ideally on an electric grill at 200°C. A cast iron or stainless steel surface is best so you can use metal spatulas in the following steps.

  Note: If you have two pans or a large enough grill surface, you should make two at a time. If you can't, pre-heat the oven to 75°C to keep the first one(s) warm later.
• Once the oil is hot*, give the batter another good stir and add one serving of it (~340g) to the pan.

  * If using a cast-iron or stainless steel pan instead of a grill, tilt it a little. If the oil is very liquid and forms these shimmering ripples as it moves, it's hot enough. This is very important, or the batter will stick. If the oil starts to smoke, it's getting too hot.
• Shape it into a round disk that is about 15cm in diameter and about 2 cm high. (Yes, they're pretty thick!)
• If using bacon, place some slices on top of the pancake now. Make one layer of parallel slices and another one on top of it at a 90° angle.
• Cook for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
• Flip the pancake(s) over and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
• Throughout this whole process, regulate the heat and add oil as needed to ensure even browning. Keep the pancake in its round shape using your spatula.

Add the toppings

• The following toppings are classic choices, and I highly recommend them. However, you can make your own variation. After all, "okonomi" means "as you like".
• Add a layer of okonomi sauce and spread it over the full surface so it forms an even layer, then zigzag some Kewpie mayo over it.
• Sprinkle a thin layer of aonori on top, then katsuobushi, and some optional extra beni shoga.
• Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Feel-good eel food!

A Patron

Acquire this taste!

“Unadon” is short for “unagi donburi”, a rice bowl topped with freshwater eel. Ever since my first (very hesitant) encounter with this fatty fish at a sushi place many years ago, it’s become one of my favorite tastes in the world. Finally trying it fresh off the grill at Tsukiji market in Tokyo only solidified my love for it. If you’re not familiar due to a lack of regular access to this fish, I implore you to give this recipe a try at least once.

Can’t stop the eeling

So unless you’re in Japan – the Eel Dorado of this dish if you will –, chances are you can’t just go out and get fresh eel or eat at a local unagi place. That’s why frozen eel is the next best (and still very good) thing. Japanese eel is the ideal choice, but other sources will also do. Just make sure the eel is pre-grilled and prepared like the fillets in the picture, deboned and butterflied. It may or may not be pre-marinated. Either is fine as long as it’s a sweet Japanese sauce. Just slather yours on top – it won’t be too much, trust me.

Recipe credit

Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on an existing one, specifically the Just One Cookbook Unadon recipe. I’ve since practiced it many times, made changes to the ingredients and steps (sometimes very few, sometimes many), and written up as much additional advice as I could based on my own experience.

If you want to get Unadon in Japan, it’s quite expensive in most places. Surprisingly, the one at Sukiya was really good for its low price. If you’re based in Germany like me, you can get a very solid bowl at Zero Banchi in Düsseldorf’s Little Tokyo area.

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Unadon

A very simple, yet delicious bowl of rice and eel slathered in a thick, sweet sauce.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 2 people

Equipment

• 1 silicone brush optional

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 pack unagi kabayaki frozen, 250-300g
• 300 g Japanese short-grain rice dry weight
• 1 stalk green onion optional
• some neutral oil

For the sauce

• 50 ml mirin
• 20 ml sake
• 30 g sugar
• 50 ml soy sauce

Instructions

Preparation

• Take the unagi out of the freezer at least an hour ahead of time. Remove from the packaging and defrost at room temperature.
• Wash the rice and pop it in the rice cooker in salted water.
• Set your oven to broil (heat from above) at maximum heat to pre-warm.
• If using green onion, thinly slice it and set aside for garnish at the end.

Make the sauce

• Mix the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring occasionally.
• Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Take the sauce off the heat and set aside. It should be reduced to about a third of its volume by now.

Broil the eel

• Cut the unagi into halves crosswise.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and apply a film of neutral oil, e.g. with a silicone brush.
• Put the unagi on the foil with the skin facing down (no need to flip it later).
• Place the baking sheet in the second-highest position in the oven, close to the heat, and leave it to broil for about 5 minutes.
• Take it back out, and generously brush on about half the sauce from the pot.
• Put it back in the oven and broil for another minute or two in the second-highest position. When taking it out, the sauce should be bubbling.

Assemble

• When the rice is done, distribute it to bowls evenly.
• Brush some of the sauce on the rice.
• Place the unagi halves on the bowls and pour remaining sauce over it.
• Sprinkle with optional green onions and serve!

It’s like a sweet pancake… hamburger!

A Patron

Paste to taste

If the recipe looks a little long, don’t worry: You don’t have to make sweet red bean paste from scratch, of course. You can find it (or other fillings you like) ready-made in many stores. There are also simpler fillings you can make at home, e.g. fruit, jam, cream cheese, Nutella, peanut butter, and any combination of those. My go-to is actually mascarpone blended with sugar and blueberries. I chose red bean paste for the recipe because it appears to be the most classic choice. If you go with that, be sure to buy azuki (aka adzuki) beans, the small dried ones – not kidney beans!

It takes time to be this smooth

If you want perfectly smooth, evenly browned dorayaki, you need to keep the heat pretty low and the oil to a minimum. Perfection takes a while, that’s just how it is. This recipe makes 16 pancakes, which take about 5-6 minutes each. I was able to fit two in the pan at once, so it took around 45 minutes total to fry them all.

Consistency is key

The amounts of water added both to the red bean paste and batter are based on my experience. You may need to add a little more or less to get ideal results. Just keep in mind that the red bean paste will thicken as you add the sugar, and more when it cools down.

By the way, the dorayaki doesn’t need to fully close around the filling. The store-bought ones are usually fully closed, but the homemade variation can show off the filling.

Recipe credit

I first made Dorayaki following the recipe in Meera Sodha’s vegetarian cookbook East, but my recipe is largely based on the Just One Cookbook Dorayaki recipe. I’ve since practiced it many times, made changes to the ingredients and steps (sometimes very few, sometimes many), and written up as much additional advice as I could based on my own experience.

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Dorayaki

Sweet Japanese pancakes stuffed with homemade red bean paste!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Simmering time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 8 dorayaki

Equipment

• 1 blender / food processor for homemade red bean paste
• 1 fine-mesh sieve for homemade red bean paste

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

For the pancakes

• 4 eggs
• 140 g sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 160 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp water
• some neutral oil for frying

For the red bean paste

• 100 g azuki beans aka adzuki beans
• 100 g sugar
• 0.25 tsp coarse salt
• 1 pot water

Instructions

Make the bean paste (optional)

• Briefly rinse the beans, then put them in a small saucepan.
• Add enough water to cover the beans plus a few extra centimeters.
• Put the pot on the stove over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
• Boil briefly, then drain the beans using a fine-mesh sieve.
• Put them back into the pot and add the same amount of fresh water again.
• Keep simmering over medium low heat for about 90 minutes. Check in sometimes and top up with water to keep the beans submerged..
• Once the beans are easy to squash between your fingers, they're ready.
• Drain the beans again, but keep 125 ml (0.5 cup) of the cooking liquid.
• Transfer them to a blender or food processor. Blend and add cooking liquid until you have a smooth and somewhat liquid paste. I usually add all the reserved water. The paste will thicken again over the next steps.
• Put the paste back into the pot and turn the heat to medium low.
• Slowly add in the sugar and keep stirring until it is fully dissolved.
• Keep going for a few minutes to let the paste thicken. Once you can draw a line at the bottom of the pot that doesn't close quickly, it's thick enough.
• Stir in the salt.
• Take it off the heat and store the paste in a bowl or food container. You can keep it in the fridge for a few days in a closed container.

Make the dorayaki batter

• Crack the eggs and whisk in a large bowl until foamy.
• Gradually add the sugar and honey, and keep whisking until well-integrated.
• Sift the flour into the bowl and thoroughly whisk again.
• Put the bowl in the fridge and let it rest for at least 15 minutes, up to a few hours.
• Take it back out and add 1 tbsp (15 ml) of water. Stir until well-mixed.

Fry the pancakes

• Put a large frying pan on your stove over medium low heat. (My electric stove goes from 1 to 9, and 4 was just right.)
• Put some neutral cooking oil on a paper towel and wipe it through the pan. You want to create a thin and even layer that's barely visible. If needed, take a clean paper towel to wipe off excess oil. This is important for even browning.
• Wait a few minutes until the pan is fully heated up.
• Slowly pour 30ml (2 tbsp) of batter into a spot in the pan. The batter should extend from there to an even disk 10 cm (4 in) in diameter.
• After 3 minutes, carefully separate the pancake from the pan and flip it over. Fry for another 2-3 minutes from the other side.
• Store all finished pancakes under a damp towel or cheesecloth so they don't dry out.
• Repeat until all pancakes are done. If your pan is big enough, make 2 at a time. The default amount of batter should yield 16 pancakes (8 dorayaki).

Assemble dorayaki

• Distribute the red bean paste to half your pancakes using a spoon. Put more in the middle and less around the edges.

  (The pancakes often have a rounder side, which should be outside, and a flatter side, where the paste should go.)
• Add a second pancake on top of each one. Press down around the edges a little so the dorayaki is slightly curved. It doesn't need to fully close.
• Enjoy!

  If you don't eat them all, wrap the leftover dorayaki in plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge for up to a few days.