Tonjiru (豚汁, pork and vegetable miso soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy soup pot or donabe
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Ladle and chopsticks for dissolving miso

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 5 cups cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the pot. Add the katsuobushi, take the pot off the heat, and leave it alone for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine-mesh strainer and let it drip without squeezing.

   Boiled konbu turns the stock bitter and slick. Squeezed bonito flakes press out strong, oily flavors. The rule is simple because the thing you're protecting is simple: clean dashi.
2. 2

   Prepare the vegetables

   Cut the daikon and carrot into half-moons, slice the gobō thinly on the diagonal, and cut the satoimo or potato into bite-size pieces. Put the sliced gobō in water for 5 minutes, then drain. You're not trying to erase its earthiness, only tame the harsh edge so it sits politely with the pork.

3. 3

   Treat the konnyaku

   Tear the konnyaku into small uneven pieces with a spoon, or cut it if you must. Parboil it for 2 minutes, then drain. Tearing gives the surface little corners that catch the broth, and the brief boil removes the smell that can make konnyaku seem louder than it is.

4. 4

   Brown the pork

   Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the pork belly and cook until it loses its raw pink color and leaves a little fat in the pot. Don't hard-brown it. Tonjiru wants the sweetness of pork in the broth, not a roasted flavor that takes over the bowl.

5. 5

   Coat the roots

   Add the daikon, carrot, gobō, satoimo or potato, konnyaku, and the white part of the negi. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the surfaces shine. This short cooking in pork fat wakes the vegetables and helps them keep their shape before the broth goes in.

6. 6

   Simmer gently

   Pour in 4 cups of the dashi, saving the rest for adjustment. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim any foam from the surface. Cook 18 to 22 minutes, until the daikon turns slightly translucent and a skewer slips through the satoimo or potato. Keep the simmer quiet. A hard boil breaks the vegetables and clouds the soup for no good reason.

7. 7

   Dissolve the miso

   Lower the heat until the soup is no longer boiling. Put the miso in a ladle, dip the ladle into the broth, and stir with chopsticks until the miso dissolves, then release it into the pot. Taste and add more miso if it needs depth, or a splash of reserved dashi if it tastes too strong.

   Never boil miso after it goes in. Heat opens its fragrance, but boiling drives that fragrance away and leaves the broth flat.
8. 8

   Finish and serve

   Add the soy sauce only if the soup needs a sharper edge, then turn off the heat. Ladle into deep bowls with an even share of pork and roots, scatter the green negi on top, and finish with a small pinch of shichimi tōgarashi if you like. Serve with rice and leave the bowl some room. This is hearty food, not a contest of volume.

Chef Tips

• •Choose pork belly sliced for shabu-shabu or sukiyaki if you can find it. Thick pork takes longer to tenderize and turns tonjiru into a stew of effort, which it doesn't need.
• •Winter daikon, carrot, gobō, and satoimo do most of the work here. When the roots are at shun, the broth sweetens without extra sugar. If the vegetables look tired, change the vegetables before you change the seasoning.
• •A mix of red and white miso gives body and fragrance. Red miso alone can be stern, white miso alone can be too sweet. Together they behave themselves.
• •For a meatless table, leave out the pork and build the dashi from konbu and dried shiitake. Add aburaage or firm tofu for body. That's temple-kitchen logic, honmono in its own line, not a poor imitation of pork soup.
• •Tonjiru is better after resting. The roots keep drinking, the pork settles into the broth, and the next day's bowl often has better manners than the first.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Reheat it gently before using.
• •The vegetables can be cut earlier in the day. Keep cut satoimo or potato covered in water, and drain well before cooking.
• •Tonjiru keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat it gently and stop short of a boil so the miso keeps its fragrance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)