Tonjiru (Japanese Pork Miso Soup) 豬肉味噌湯～深夜食堂

After i cooked the Japanese Chicken Karaage 炸鸡块 which i was inspired by a Japanese drama 深夜食堂 (Midnight Canteen) , this time I try with the main dish Tonjiru (Japanese Pork Miso Soup) 豬肉味噌湯. In this show, this is a main dish that selling in this midnight canteen, you will see the main actor cooking this dish at the begining of every episode.

Also i want to use this claypot which i brought back from the recent Osaka trip. I have been looking for a claypot with this pattern for longer time. I was so happy when i chanced upon this claypot in Osaka ( i will share where to get this claypot in my travel Japan post later).

This is also 1st time i tried this healthy vegetable root -Gobo (burdock root) 牛蒡..Bought one at Jusco (RM 2.50) and can made into 3 dishes, cheap and versatile!

I use an easy way to prepare dashi stock, cook with store-bought dashi packs..

 

My family like the normal miso soup (tofu and wakeme), but after trying this pork miso soup, we prefer this soup now, simply oishi !

I omitted Konnyaku (konjac) because i could not find it here, but i think Isetan should have this item..As for how to cut the vegetables, you can refer to the cutting techniques page in Nami@ Just One Cookbook, she has very clear explaination and pictures.

Tonjiru (Japanese Pork Miso Soup)
(recipe source: largely adapted from Just One Cookbook, and from深夜食堂,with minor changes)

7 cups dashi stock
1tsp sesame oil +1tbsp cooking oil

250g pork belly, sliced thinly
1/2 onion,sliced
2 inch white radish/ daikon, sliced thinly
1/3 Gobo (burdock root) , cutting like bamboo method
100g Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, sliced
1 small leek, sliced
1/2 Tofu, cut into ½ inch cubicles

3tbsp miso or to taste

Method
1. Prepare dashi stock (homemade or boil with 2 dashi packets), set aside.
2. In a claypot or pot, heat sesame oil and cooking oil, sauté onion till aroma, add in belly pork slices, stir fry till color changed.
3. Add in all vegetables and dashi stock, simmer over medium low heat for about 20mins.
4. Turn to low heat and make sure soup is not boiling, add miso paste in a ladle, use chopsticks to stir miso paste with soup till miso dissolved in the soup completely.
5. Add in tofu pieces and gently mix well.
6. 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.

This is the way how to dissolve miso paste in the soup..At this stage, soup should not boiling, as it will lose miso flavor..

We were enjoyed this soup with our favourite grilled saba fish. I quite often cook Japanese meal for dinner.