For an authentic-tasting ramen, with a broth that was richly flavored with pork and hit the perfect level of seasoning, we decided to use store-bought chicken broth as a broth base. We infused it with pork flavor by cutting boneless country-style spare ribs into chunks and pulsing them in a food processor until coarsely ground. With the meat broken down, it more readily released its flavor, and after only 40 minutes of simmering, with garlic and ginger added, we had a fragrant broth redolent of pork. Though we were hesitant to use dried ramen noodles from the packets sold in supermarkets in our ramen soup recipe, we preferred them to all the types of noodles that we tried. We cooked them in boiling water—without their seasoning packets—then drained them and divided them among bowls, into which we poured our broth and garnishes.

Serves 4