Spicy Sesame Pork Soup with Noodles

For Stock

• 3 pounds meaty pork neck bones
• 1 medium onion, rough chopped
• 2 medium carrots, preferably organic, scrubbed and rough chopped
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 5 whole cilantro plants, including roots, well washed
• 5 whole scallions, including roots, well washed

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Spread pork bones out on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, carefully flip bones with a metal spatula and tongs and add carrots and onions to pan, piling vegetables on top of the bones. Roast for 30 more minutes, until vegetables begin to char around edges and bones begin to caramelize.
4. Transfer bones and vegetables to a large stockpot. Add 14 cups water, reserving the last ½ cup to deglaze the roasting sheet, using a metal spatula to scrape up all the browned bits before adding mixture to stockpot. Water should be covering bones by about an inch.
5. In a small bowl, whisk tamarind paste, tomato paste, and 2 tablespoons water from the stockpot. Whisk this mixture into the stockpot.
6. Heat stock over medium-high heat until nearly boiling, and then reduce to a slow simmer.
7. Continue simmering (uncovered) for 2 hours.
8. After 2 hours, using a sieve, strain out vegetables, pressing down on solids so liquids go back into stockpot. One at a time, carefully take out bones and put them on a plate near your stockpot. Using small tongs and a fork (or two forks) remove the meat. Transfer meat (should have between 3-4 cups depending on how meaty your bones were) to a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate. Return bones, including cartilage and fat, and any liquid that may have accumulated on the plate, to stockpot. Continue simmering for 1 hour. At this point, you can allow mixture to cool slightly before refrigerating overnight. I found that transferring stock to another pot nestled in a large pan filled with ice and water helped cool down the stock more quickly in order to transfer pot to refrigerator. The next day, remove congealed fat layer from surface of stock before simmering for a final hour, adding the smoked ham hock, whole cilantro plants and scallions. Strain out hock and aromatics with a sieve, pressing down on solids to allow liquids back into stock. Repeat cooling and refrigerating step.
9. Alternatively, you can make the stock in one day by adding the smoked hock and aromatics after three hours of simmering (skipping the extra overnight in the fridge), and continue cooking for the final hour. Cool stock enough to refrigerate overnight (see above in step 8).

Seasonings For the Soup -- Finishing the Soup

• 1/4 cup Katsuo Furikake (Roasted Sesame Seed and Dried Bonito mix) *found in the Japanese section of an Asian market or some grocery stores
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1-2 tablespoon Gochujang (fermented Korean chili paste)*found in the Korean section of an Asian market or some grocery stores
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Aka (Red) Miso paste *found in the Japanese section of an Asian market or some grocery stores
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• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 cups reserved pork meat, chopped
• 4 cups shredded Savoy or Napa cabbage
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 14-16 ounces rice vermicelli (from an Asian market or section of the grocery store – Do not substitute gluten free rice noodles) *Feel free to substitute your favorite Asian noodle instead, such as ramen

1. Take stock out of refrigerator and remove congealed fat layer from the surface of soup (stock should be more like jelly than liquid).
2. Heat stock over medium-high heat until nearly boiling, and then reduce to a slow simmer.
3. If you have them, use a suribachi (ceramic Japanese mortar with rough grooves on the inside of the bowl) and surikogi (wooden pestle) to grind katsuo furikake into a paste. If you do not, a regular mortar and pestle will also work. Add ½ t sesame oil midway through grinding to help mixture come together.
4. When almost all of the sesame seeds are mashed, add in 1 T of gojuchang. If you know you love heat, add 2 T. As you turn the pestle around the mortar, the gojuchang will ball up around the sesame seed mixture. Whisk this into the stock and allow soup to simmer for 20 minutes. If there is still a lot of sesame-gojuchang paste stuck in the mortar, add a little bit of stock to the bowl, stir, and pour mixture into the pot.
5. Turn off heat.
6. Place miso paste in a small bowl and whisk in enough hot stock (2-3 T) to liquefy the miso. Pour this into stock and stir to incorporate. Allow mixture to cool and refrigerate overnight.
7. Remove your soup from the refrigerator and slowly heat it up.
8. In another pot, cook rice vermicelli according to directions on the package, and then drain in a colander, rinsing with some cold water to stop the noodles from cooking.
9. In a skillet large enough to hold pork and cabbage, heat sesame oil over medium heat.
10. Add chopped pork and stir to heat through. Add cabbage and stir to take off raw edge. Turn off heat, stir in balsamic and a pinch of salt.
11. Portion rice noodles into soup bowls.
12. Top each bowl with pork and cabbage.
13. Ladle steaming broth over each bowl.
14. Generously add chopped green onions and cilantro to each bowl and serve immediately. Enjoy!