Tonjiru
The name simply means “pork soup”. It is a wintry, home-style miso soup — far more filling than the light version with tofu and wakame. Thin slices of pork belly fried in sesame oil, daikon, carrot and potatoes cooked in dashi and seasoned with miso paste. The pork fat turns the broth golden and gives it depth. The key rule: miso goes in at the end and is never boiled, or it loses its aroma.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Cutting 15 min
- Frying 5 min
- Simmering 15 min
- Miso 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneCut the vegetables
Peel the daikon and carrot and cut into 5 mm quarter-moons. Cut the potatoes into 2 cm cubes and the tofu into 1.5 cm cubes.
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
Even pieces — they cook in the same time.Cut the pork
If the pork belly is in one piece, slice it thinly (2–3 mm), then cut into pieces about 3 cm long. It slices most easily slightly frozen — put it in the freezer for 20 minutes before you start on the vegetables.
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
Fry the pork and vegetables
Heat the sesame oil in a pot, fry the pork until it changes colour, about 3 minutes, then add the daikon, carrot and potatoes and fry together 2 minutes (about 5 minutes in total).
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
The pork fat coats the vegetables — the flavour base.Add dashi and simmer
Pour in the dashi, bring to the boil and skim. Simmer 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
Add the tofu
Add the tofu and simmer another 2 minutes to warm through.
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
Dissolve the miso
Turn the heat right down. Scoop a ladle of broth, dissolve the miso in it with chopsticks or a spoon and stir it into the pot. From now on the soup must not boil.
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
Miso in the ladle — it dissolves without lumps.Taste
Taste and add another spoonful of miso if needed. Every paste differs in saltiness — light miso is milder, dark stronger.
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
Serve with spring onion
Ladle into bowls and scatter with sliced spring onion. Serve with a bowl of rice and, if you like, a pinch of shichimi pepper.
Ingredients: 200 g skinless pork belly, thinly sliced · 200 g daikon radish · 1 pcs carrot · 2 pcs potatoes · 150 g plain tofu · 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1000 ml dashi stock · 4 tbsp miso paste · 2 pcs spring onions
Before you start
Traditional vegetables
In Japan tonjiru also includes burdock root (gobō) and konnyaku jelly. If you find them in an Asian shop, add them with the daikon.
Quick dashi
Make dashi from granules (about 2 teaspoons per litre of water, or as the packet says) or by soaking a piece of kombu in cold water overnight. At a pinch, water will do — the pork and miso bring plenty of flavour.
Storage
The soup keeps 2 days in the fridge. Reheat it gently without boiling, so the miso keeps its aroma.
