Tonjiru

Ingredients:

• 5 cups dashi stock
• ½ Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 pkg sliced pork belly, or sliced “Komagire” pork, cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp ground/minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion
• 2 inch daikon
• ½ Gobo (burdock root)
• 2 Satoimo (taro root)
• ½ carrot
• 1/3 Konnyaku (konjac)
• 5 Tbsp. miso
• ½ Tofu, cut into ½ inch cubicles
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Make 5 cups of dashi stock. When dashi stock is ready, keep it aside.
2. Meanwhile, cut all the ingredients into small pieces. If you are interested in Japanese way of cutting these veggies, you can follow Cutting Techniques page. Carrot and Gobo: Hangetsugiri (Semi-Circle) technique, Daikon and Satoimo: Ichogiri (Quarter-Rounds) technique, Konnyaku: Tanzakugiri (Rectangles) technique, Onion: Usugiri (Thin Cut) technique

3. In a frying pan, heat sesame oil on medium high heat and add the meat and ginger. Cook until nicely browned and set aside.

4. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil on medium high and sauté onion until it is well coated with oil.

5. Add gobo, daikon, satoimo, carrots, and other hard ingredients like renkon. Mix all together and then add konnyaku and soft ingredients such as shimeji. Stir until everything is well mixed.

6. Pour dashi stock into the large pot.

7. Add the meat and bring the soup to a boil.

8. Right before it starts boiling, skim off the scum and fat from the soup. Simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 15-20 minutes depending on ingredients you put.
9. Add miso using a strainer. If you don’t have one, use a ladle so you can make sure all miso is completely dissolved. Taste the soup before you add more miso. If you add tofu, it will dilute the soup a little bit, so you might want to add ½ Tbsp. more miso.

10. Add Tofu and stir gently without breaking up the tofu.

11. When you are ready to eat, reheat the miso soup on medium high heat. And please remember: NEVER LET THE SOUP BOIL because miso will lose flavor. Add green onion and serve immediately.