I took my first bite of the chashu right out of the box, without heating it up. The chashu was as lean as it looked. Texture-wise, it’s about typical of what’s served in run-of-the-mill ramenyas, if only a bit thicker. If anyone had a slice of overcooked white turkey meat during Thanksgiving, that should give you an idea of the texture of this chashu. The pork was a bit sweet; the sugar and sweet sake in the marinade overpowered the shoyu by just a bit.

After I prepared some tonkotsu instant ramen, I let the pork soak in the soup for a few minutes to warm up and soak in some of the soup. The contrast between the slightly salt soup and the slightly sweet pork made the chashu taste even more sweet, which didn’t really go well with the ramen.

Mitsuwa’s chashu makes a decent, if unexciting addition to a bowl of instant ramen. If I find anything better, I’ll be sure to report back, but this chashu gets a middling 5 out of 10.

To prepare the marinade, mix 1 cup of water with 1/3 cup of shoyu (3 parts water to 1 part shoyu). Bring the mixture to a boil in a pot or just zap it in the microwave. Once it starts to boil, mix in 4 teaspoons of brown sugar until it completely dissolves. Set it aside and be sure to allow some time to let it cool off.

One of the keys to a good hanjuku egg is to properly soft-boil the egg. First, bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then add 1 cup of cold water to cool the boiling water (keep the fire going though). This step is essential for preventing cracked eggs (believe us!). Gently put the eggs in the pot and boil for 7 to 7-1/2 minutes. Be sure to slowly stir the eggs ocassionally to help the yolk cook evenly and to keep it centered.

Once the eggs are done, immediately put them into a cup/bowl of ice water for about 3-4 minutes. This will cause the egg white to shrink away from the shell slightly, which will make it easier to shell the eggs.

Shell the eggs: work slowly and be extremely careful. Because the eggs aren’t hard-boiled, the egg white will be very delicate and prone to break. This was the hardest step (for us, anyway) in making hanjuku eggs.

Next, put the eggs in the marinade and refrigerate overnight. Marinating for a shorter or longer time will affect the strength of the flavor.

When ready to eat, the egg whites should be a nice dark tan color. The yolk will be a golden orange and have an almost jello-like consistency. Itadakimasu!

For more advanced cooks, hanjuku egg marinades usually call for mirin, a sweet Japanese rice wine used in cooking. Since we didn’t have any mirin handy, we substituted brown sugar. Feel free to experiment with different amounts of marinade ingredients. Also try adding some vinegar, or even using instant ramen soup mix. If you have your own hanjuku recipe, or have any tips you’d like to share, please leave a comment below or send us a note!

References: Joyce’s playing, which in turn was adapted from a Japanese tv cooking show, and this Japanese recipe which also shows how the egg looks after 2 to 60 hours of marinating

(This is what the yolk looks like after boiling for just 5 minutes. It’s still edible and delicious, but much too runny.)