00:00Many tonjiru recipes might skip the one step that turns this soup from good to unforgettable.
00:05And I'm about to show you what it is. Watch what happens when pork belly heats a dry hot pot
00:11first.
00:12If you'd like a printable version of this recipe to keep in your kitchen, just google tonjiru statue to find
00:18it.
00:18Let me start with the pork. Ideally, you want pork belly, not pork loin, not anything lean.
00:24The fat on pork belly is the engine of this entire dish.
00:28As it renders out, it becomes the cooking medium for every vegetable that follows, and it carries flavour into every
00:37spoonful.
00:38If you can buy a slab and slice it yourself, that gives you the most control.
00:43About 200g of cold pork straight from the fridge is much easier to cut cleanly.
00:48You are aiming for slices about 2-5mm thick, roughly the thickness of a thick coin.
00:55Brist sliced pork belly from a Japanese or Korean grocery is great too, and some gobsal cut works beautifully if
01:03that's what you can find.
01:05Once it is sliced, give both sides a light sprinkle of salt.
01:10Now the vegetables. This soup is built on root vegetables, so a little prep upfront pays off.
01:16Daikon and carrot get peeled and cut into half or quarter moons about 1.5cm thick.
01:24If your daikon is skinny, just slice it into rounds.
01:30Gobo, the bird of fruit, gets sliced on the diagonal.
01:34If you cannot find gobo, per snip is the closest thing you will find at a western supermarket.
01:39It will be sweeter and missed the earthy bitterness gobo has, but it holds up well in the soup.
01:45In the case, cut per snip a little thicker than you would gobo, about 1.5 times, because it softens
01:53faster.
01:54Slice your shiitake and give them a pinch of salt.
01:57That little bit of salt pulls moisture out and concentrates their flavour before they ever hit the pot.
02:05Cut the aburaga into thin strips.
02:07If you want, you can pour boiling water over it first to wash off some of the surface oil, but
02:13that step is optional.
02:15And the konnyaku.
02:16Instead of cutting it with a knife, tear it into bite-sized pieces with a spoon.
02:22Tone edges grab onto the broth way better than clean cuts.
02:27Slice your negi, the Japanese leek, on the daikono.
02:31Regular leek is the closest substitute if you cannot find negi.
02:35Just add it a few minutes earlier than the recipe says, because it takes longer to soften.
02:42Heat a large pot of medium.
02:44Lay the pork belly in a single layer, no crowding.
02:48And walk away for about 30 seconds to a minute on each side.
02:52You want both sides well browned and the fat starting to paddle in the bottom of the pot.
02:58Work in batches if your pot is small.
03:01This is the step a lot of tonjiro might skip entirely.
03:05Searing first does two things at once.
03:08It triggers the mailed reaction on the surface of the meat,
03:11which is what builds that toasty, savoury, almost roasted depth you cannot get any other way.
03:17Pull the pork out and set it aside on a plate.
03:20Do not wipe the pot. That fat is gold.
03:23Add the gobo first.
03:25Gobo goes in before any other vegetable because it is the densest, most fibrous one.
03:31And it needs the longest contact with the hot fat to release its earthy fragrance.
03:37Stir it around for about a minute.
03:39Then in go the daikon and carrot. Stir fry for two minutes.
03:43You're not trying to brown them, just coat them and start them cooking.
03:49Now add the shitake, the konnyaku and the aburage.
03:53Keep staring until every single piece looks slightly coated in the rendered fat.
03:58Adding the vegetables in stages like this instead of all at once means each one gets direct contact with the
04:05pork fat.
04:06By the time the shitake and the konnyaku show up, the fat is already carrying the toasty nodes of everything
04:12that came before.
04:13You're stacking flavour in layers.
04:16Pour in 1500ml of dash stock and give it a gentle stir.
04:22My go-to is homemade dashi packets. I make a batch on a Sunday and it lasts me weeks.
04:27If you want to skip that, high-quality store-bought dashi packets are a solid choice.
04:33From scratch, awase dashi with katsuobushi and konbu is the absolute best.
04:38Instant granules will technically work, but I treat them as a last resort.
04:43Add half a tablespoon of soy sauce and half a tablespoon of mirin.
04:47These two work together to build a savoury sweet backbone underneath the miso that comes later.
04:53Bring it up to a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil.
04:57You want small lazy bubbles rising from the bottom, around 90 to 95 degrees Celsius.
05:04Keep it gentle, let it bubble for about 10 minutes until the daikon is just tender enough to slide the
05:10chopstick into,
05:11but still has a little bite to it.
05:14Add an eggy and return your seared pork to the pot.
05:16Simmer for another 5 minutes.
05:19The pork slices are thin so they will cook through completely in that time.
05:23The negi goes in last because it only needs a few minutes to soften,
05:28and over cooking it kills its fresh, sharp brightness.
05:32Now turn off the heat completely, this is important.
05:35From this point on, the broth should never boil again.
05:40Measure out 6-7 tablespoons of awase miso.
05:43Awase is a blend of red and white miso, and outside Japan it is sometimes labelled yellow or blended.
05:49It gives you the most balanced flavour, and it is what I use here.
05:54Add about half the miso to a miso strainer, lower it into the pot, and use chopsticks or a spoon
06:02to dissolve it through the mesh.
06:04If you do not have a miso strainer, scoop the miso into a small bowl with a few tablespoons of
06:10the hot broth.
06:10Whisk it smooth, and pour it back into the pot.
06:14Stir gently until it is fully incorporated.
06:18Now taste. Brands lie.
06:20The salt level swings wildly from one miso to the next, so there is no universal correct amount.
06:27Add the rest in small spoonfuls, testing as you go.
06:30Your turn is the only measuring tool that matters here.
06:33Once the miso is where you want it, stir in half a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger, and half a
06:40tablespoon of unsalted butter.
06:43I tested this recipe without the butter.
06:45The traditional version is already delicious, but when I added butter, the broth gained this silky, rounded body that smoothed
06:53out all the sharp edges.
06:54The ginger keeps it from feeling heavy. Together, they turn a great soup into something you keep thinking about hours
07:03later.
07:04Ladle it into bowls, topped with finely chopped green onions, and if you like a little kick, a pinch of
07:10shichimitogarashi.
07:11This is the bowl that empties the pot before anyone gets a chance at seconds.
07:17Rich rendered pork fat with vegetables that have been slowly soaking in dashi.
07:22The quiet ham of butter and ginger underneath.
07:26And the kind of deep fermented warmth that only miso can give you.
07:32Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
07:38Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time.
07:41And if you're ready to cook, grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's
07:46about to pop up on your screen.
07:49That's a wrap. You can find the full printable version of this recipe on my website linked right here on
07:54the screen.
07:55If you enjoy this, check out my soup playlist.
07:58And next week, I'm making wafu pasta. Hit subscribe so you don't miss it. See you then.
08:02Stay tuned.
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ΠΎΠ΄id Khacey
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08:02Moana μ¨κ°
