Tonjiru (Hearty Miso Soup)

delicious tonjiru

 

Tonjiru is a hearty miso soup made from pork and vegetables. Ton is pork and jiru soup. It is a great soup for wintery cold days and a good example of country-style Japanese home cooking.
Mrs Yoko Nakano from Kashiwa City kindly gave me this recipe. Serves 5

200g pork meat, finely sliced or in strips

beautiful lacquer ware bowls

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as sunflower oil

4 cups water

2 teaspoons Japanese stock dashi granules (powdered dashi)

1 large or two small potatoes (jagaimo, western style potato), peeled and diced

1 thick 4 cm (1.5in) slice of large white radish (daikon), cut into rectangular slices, cut off round sides so that you have a "block, cut in half and slice. (omit if not available, or substitute parsnip)

1 carrot, peeled and diced (cut in halves lengthways, then in half again lengthways and sliced)

1 small onion, sliced finely or diced OR 2 spring onions finely chopped

3 to 4 tablespoons white miso paste, or to taste

1.  Heat oil in the base of a large saucepan. Saute the meat and onions until cooked.

2.   Add the water and dashi stock and the remaining vegetables. Bring to the boil, and then simmer until potatoes are soft.
Remove from heat and stir in the miso paste until it is dissolved. Serve hot.

Variations: Add root vegetables as desired. For a vegetarian option, use tofu instead of pork.  
In Japan a similar soup called “Satsuma Jiru” is made using Satsuma potatoes (a type of Japanese potato) to which pork, burdock (gobo, substitute parsnip), white radish (daikon), carrots (ninjin), and spring onions (negi), are added. I came across Satsuma Jiru in a Home Economics classroom in a Japanese Middle School in Matsudo City, where it is taught to teach the students how to prepare and chop a variety of vegetables. The teacher, Mrs Honda, kindly showed me how to make it.