A stockpot (寸胴鍋, sundo-nabe in Japanese ramen kitchens) is a tall, narrow pot designed to maximise liquid volume while minimising surface area, which slows evaporation during long simmers. Ramen broth is produced in sundo-nabe 24–48 hours; pho broth 4–8 hours.
Capacity
- Home: 8–12 litre; sufficient for 4–6 litres of finished broth
- Restaurant: 30–60 litre; ramen restaurants use 40-litre sundo-nabe permanently on the stove
Tall vs wide
A wide pot loses liquid faster to evaporation and is harder to maintain at a gentle simmer. A tall pot keeps the broth deep, which means the boiling point at the surface is well below the 100°C that would cloud the broth.