Pork and vegetable miso soup (tonjiru / butajiru)
If you think that authentic miso soup should have only three solid ingredients — tofu, wakame and scallions — you might be in for a surprise. There are so many other ingredients that can be added to miso soup. Tofu is not even always a must.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 small handful dried wood ears
- 1 small onion
- 1 half-inch knob ginger
- 300 grams pork belly or shoulder (⅔ pound)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- 6 cups dashi
- ½ cup julienned carrot
- 1 cup green beans or yard-long beans, cut into two-inch lengths
- 2 heaping tablespoons miso paste white miso is recommended
- salt
- sliced scallions to garnish
Instructions
- Place the wood ears in a bowl and pour in enough hot water to cover.
- Peel and thinly slice the onion.
- Peel and grate the ginger.
- Thinly slice the pork.
- Heat the sesame seed oil in a pot. Spread the pork slices and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.
- Add the ginger and onion slices to the pork; continue cooking with occasional stirring until the onion slices are soft.
- Pour the dashi into the pot.
- Simmer the pork for about 20 minutes or until tender.
- Drain the now-swollen wood ears and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Add the wood ears, carrot and beans to the pork. Cover the pot and simmer until the vegetables are done.
- Place the miso paste in a bowl and add a cup of the hot broth. Stir until no lumps remain.
- Pour the diluted miso paste into the pot and stir. Taste. Add more salt, if needed.
- Serve the pork and vegetable miso soup topped with sliced scallions.