A chance Twitter critique of the ramen preparation methods of a Waco BBQ ramen joint reviewed by Texas Monthly’s BBQ editor, Daniel Vaughn, sparked a conversation that led to suggestion that I visit the Japanese restaurant Uchiba in Dallas for their ramen collaboration with Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin. According to Uchiba’s chef de cuisine, Alex Astranti, this collaboration was part of Uchiba’s “Uncommon Ramen” series started in 2017 at Uchiba’s previous iteration, Top Knot, when Alex and his then chef de cuisine were looking for something fun to do. Growing from a monthly one-night collaboration with local chefs for three months a year, Uncommon Ramen has grown to a year-round series (10x/year) that pulls in notable chefs from all over the country to experiment with new approaches on ramen and exchange knowledge and techniques with each other.
Aaron Franklin needs little introduction as the best-known barbecue chef in the country, winning the James Beard award in 2015 and seeing waits at his Austin location running up to five hours a day. For his third collaboration with Uchiba for Uncommon Ramen, Franklin wanted to build a menu around his famous brisket, but in a format that would be less logistically challenging given that his Uncommon Ramen events go through 500 bowls a night. Anticipating our disappointment surprise–especially one who was not able to wait at Franklin Barbecue in the one week he was in Austin–that this bowl would not feature sliced brisket as had the two previous collaborations, Aaron explained the numerous difficulties of: preparing sufficient brisket on Sunday when Franklin Barbecue is closed; ensuring representative slices of brisket when the lean flat and fatty point cuts come out to a 2:1 ratio; bringing all of this up from Austin by himself.
As such, this year he elected to go with a “brisket bomb”, made from chopped brisket infused with scallions and a week’s worth of brisket drippings packed into balls and then cold-smoked. (My description here might be off a bit as I didn’t have a notepad when Aaron stopped by to chat with me) Using this method, he was able to make 551 “bombs” to cover the expected number of diners, and appeasing any holdouts with some smoked brisket and burnt ends to use in the appetizers. The brisket bomb was absolutely terrific: though served like a meatball, opening it up revealed a thick mesh of brisket sinew, packed with flavor from the brisket drippings. I still would like to try Franklin Barbecue one of these days, but the brisket bomb was not some back-up consolation prize.
Alex was in charge of building the other components of the ramen bowl. The broth was a repeat of last year’s collaboration with Franklin, a sesame tonkotsu that Alex thought went well with brisket, made from pig and chicken feet, kombu, and various aromatics, with a tare made from a mixture of shoyu, mirin, and sake that he learned from a friend who runs Uncle Ramen in Denver. My impression was that it was a good porky broth but a touch more thinner-bodied than I would’ve liked–according to the kitchen, perhaps this was because Alex was afraid that the broth would be too salty–and I had trouble detecting the sesame flavor in the ramen. As a big fan of the sesame ramen from Yamaraa (No. 84, review coming soonish) in Tokyo’s Ningyocho neighborhood, I was really looking forward to tasting punchy sesame flavor that would add a different dimension to tonkotsu broth. A good broth, but disappointing not to taste a more up-front sesame component.
As for the toppings, Alex described how he wanted to recreate the typical BBQ side of potato salad for the bowl. This meant using red potatoes, pickled onions and peppers to cut through the rich tonkotsu broth, confit shiitake mushroom, and cilantro. This was a mixed bag: I thought the potatoes were great in absorbing the broth and being infused with the porky flavors, but I don’t think the use of pickled onions and peppers worked. While I understand Alex’s rationale for cutting through the fatty tonkotsu broth, the vinegary astringency of the vegetables were more distractions than contrastive complements. Perhaps it would’ve worked better if the sesame flavors were more pronounced, but some pickled (but sweet) menma would have definitely worked. If anything, I thought the cilantro did a far better job in opening new dimensions the broth, and would recommend that they be used again.
As Uchiba’s normal local ramen noodle supplier didn’t quite have the capacity and made a thicker noodle that would take a longer time to cook, Uchiba turned to Sun Noodle to supply the noodles, an alkali noodle that could cook quickly for a 500-bowl night. They were fine, though I wouldn’t have minded a thicker noodle for a kotteri bowl such as this. The ajitama could’ve been better, as its yolk was a little too liquid-y.
Wanting the full experience, I also ordered the two appetizers, the brisket burnt ends karaage and the smoked brisket nigiri. According to others whom I talked to, Franklin was very proud of the burnt ends karaage, but I thought they were probably the weakest element on the menu. While the burnt ends themselves were terrific and karaage-afficionado inside me loved the concept of the dish, the decision to smother the fried burnt ends in Indonesian sambal sauce was a big miss. Not only is it a direct contravention of how karaage is made–breaded with potato and wheat starch, fried, and served either bare or with a bit of cabbage and mayo–but the sambal negated the crispy fried exterior and obscured some of the burnt ends flavor.
The smoked nigiri was a much better item, not least because it formed the basis of my conversation with David, my friendly sushi chef. Smoked brisket is what Franklin is best known for, and the lean brisket, glazed with fish caramel, and topped off with some citrusy yuzu kosho was a fine combination. That said, that brisket nigiri may have been bettered by the freebie David gave me, a sea bream (真鯛, madai) nigiri topped with Maldon salt, lemon zest, and a small squeeze of juice. The crunch from the salt and the lemon flavors really worked well.
Ramen, as a cuisine, is remarkably open to interpretation and innovation, and I was impressed by Alex and Uchiba’s efforts to experiment and collaborate with chefs from very different backgrounds. While ramen collaborations assuredly have occurred before and elsewhere, Uchiba’s Uncommon Ramen series is the first I’ve heard to do so in such an organized way. Looking forward, Alex is hoping to continue expand and publicize Uncommon Ramen, perhaps using it as a venue to work with other well-known chefs, such as one year featuring only James Beard winners and nominees. While I don’t necessarily agree with all the decisions that went into constructing this bowl of ramen and its appetizers, the collaboration with Aaron Franklin showcases one of the several avenues of expanding interest and appreciation for ramen in the United States, which I hope will help achieve my broader goal of getting diners to demand and receive better ramen.
Q(ueue) Factor: None, but reservations were snagged pretty quickly and I was only able to get one because I was dining alone.
Sense: Seats at the sushi bar are fun when the sushi chef is friendly and lets you sample a terrific sea bream nigiri
Price: Brisket Ramen ($19.50); Smoked Brisket Nigiri ($10); Brisket Burnt End Karaage ($12) + Tax/Tip
