When E.A.K. Ramen opened, it stood out in this ramen-crazed city by serving iekei-style ramen. That style of soup — which submerges thick noodles in a creamy tonkotsu-shoyu broth blend, topped with spinach, seaweed, and chashu (roast pork belly) — was difficult, if not impossible, to previously find. “Shio ramen is often a category in Japan, but it can be boring. It’s too plain, so it needed a stronger flavor. We wanted to really differentiate our shio ramen option from the shoyu signature, since the differences are so subtle.” The team landed on the addition of butter and garlic oil, with an added aesthetic bonus of the stark broth-to-oil contrast for a “cute” visual. The body parts of a chicken (but not the wings) are added into this second-step broth pot, which also includes some previously made, fully finished broth from the day prior, kind of like the mother or starter used to make bread. “It’s not a 1-generation thing. It needs to ‘inherit’ older broth, to really change the flavor”. This 2nd, main vat of broth then cooks for 24 hours. There’s also a 3rd “sub-pot,” so when the main vat of broth gets too concentrated, some of this more-diluted broth can be poured in, typically every 30 minutes. “The broth really needs to be taken care of, almost like a baby”.

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