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Good Taste: Morimoto's tonkotsu ramen

Ramen Riches Now that Philly's ramen scene is finally rolling with noodle counters from Chinatown to University City, it's easy to overlook an obvious stop for one of our very best: lunch at Morimoto. The Iron Chef's long been noted for his chicken soup r

Morimoto's tonkotsu ramen is a rich soup of pork broth, scallion, pickled red ginger, soy-marinated egg, pickled turnip, bork belly, and bok choy. ( Matthew Hall / Staff Photographer )
Morimoto's tonkotsu ramen is a rich soup of pork broth, scallion, pickled red ginger, soy-marinated egg, pickled turnip, bork belly, and bok choy. ( Matthew Hall / Staff Photographer )Read more
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Now that Philly's ramen scene is finally rolling with noodle counters from Chinatown to University City, it's easy to overlook an obvious stop for one of our very best: lunch at Morimoto.

The Iron Chef's long been noted for his chicken soup ramen, but has added some other tremendous variations, including a pork belly bowl I crave.

The little touches - the vivid green plume of steamed bok choy, the creamy-yolked four-minute egg, the tangy pickled turnips - all add spark.

But the fundamentals are what really help this bowl sing: an intensely steeped broth of pork, beef and chicken bones, enhanced with a soy-kombu reduction, and so cloudy and rich, it clings to the snappy, imported alkaline noodles.

The thick slices of pork belly were so tender - the result of a slow braise in nuka, the enzyme-rich bran of rice polished from brown to white in Morimoto's basement.

- Craig LaBan
Pork belly ramen lunch, $15, Morimoto, 723 Chestnut St., 215-413-9070.

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