Shoyu Ramen

Method

1. Roll the 60 g of pork belly into a tight cylinder and tie it at 2 cm intervals with kitchen string. Put it in a small saucepan with 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of mirin, 1 tbsp of sake, 1 tsp of caster sugar, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 10 g of sliced ginger and the green part of 1 spring onion, then add just enough water to cover. Bring to a bare simmer, lid ajar, and cook on the lowest heat for 50 minutes, turning once, until a skewer slides through with no resistance. Leave it to cool in its liquid.
2. Lower 1 fridge-cold egg into boiling water and cook exactly 6 minutes 30 seconds for a jammy yolk, then chill it in iced water for 2 minutes and peel carefully. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cooled pork braising liquid into a small bag or cup with the egg and leave it to marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, turning it once.
3. Put 350 ml of chicken stock in a saucepan with 3 g of kombu and 1 dried shiitake and leave to steep off the heat for 30 minutes. Bring it slowly to about 80C — small bubbles at the edge only — and lift out the kombu before it boils, or the broth turns slimy and bitter. Simmer 10 minutes more, remove the shiitake, and season with a pinch of white pepper. Keep it just below the boil.