Pork Miso Soup with Chili Recipe (Tonjiru)

Tonjiru: Pork Miso Soup (also: Butajiru)

Tonjiru, sometimes also Butajiru is a Japanese soup based on miso and contains pork, which is also the literal translation of the both terms: pork soup. Notice also the classic recipe for Tonjiru, the following variation will use chili.

Ingredients

Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

• Chili mix – seven-spice, optional
• Spring onions – 2 pieces, chopped
• Miso paste – 2 tbsp
• Soup stock – 4 cups
• Konnyaku (a potato-like fruit) – ½, boiled, chopped into thin and tiny rectangles
• Potato – 1 medium-sized piece, peeled and chopped into tiny pieces
• Carrot – ½ piece, peeled and chopped into thin and tiny rectangles
• Burdock root – ½, peeled, shaved in thin pieces
• Daikon radish – ¼, peeled and chopped into thin and tiny rectangles
• Pork – 200 grams (7 oz), thinly sliced, chopped into strips 1 ½-inch long

Directions

1. Soak the pieces of burdock roots for about 5 minutes in a lot of water and then drain.
2. In a deep saucepan, heat oil and then do a quick stir-fry on the pork.
3. Add konnyaku, potato, carrot, burdock root and daikon radish and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
4. Pour soup stock into the pan and then bring to boil.
5. Turn the heat down to low level and then allow the soup to simmer for about 10 minutes until the vegetables become soft.
6. Dissolve miso paste in soup mixture.
7. Remove the pork miso soup from heat and then serve in individual serving bowls.
8. Add spring onions on each bowl for garnishing.
9. Add the chili mix if desired.

Tips

Ton is the Japanese word for pork and tonjuri has quite a different taste than other miso soups. If you don’t like hot meals try also the classic pork miso soup recipe without chili.