00:00Many tonjuru 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,
00:16just google tonjuru statue to find it.
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.
00:29As it renders out, it becomes the cooking medium for every vegetable that follows,
00:34and it carries flavour into every spoonful.
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.
00:56Brist-sliced pork belly from a Japanese or Korean grocery is great too,
01:00and some capsule cut works beautifully if that'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.
01:17Daikon 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 burdock root, 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 mixed that 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 the 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 aburagi into thin strips. If you want, you can pour boiling water over it first
02:10to wash off some of the surface oil, but that step is optional.
02:15And the konnyaku. Instead of cutting it with a knife, tear it into bite-sized pieces with a spoon.
02:21Tone edges grab onto the broth way better than clean cuts.
02:27Slice your negi, the Japanese leek, on the diagonal.
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, lay 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. It triggers the male-led 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. Do not wipe the pot. That fat is gold.
03:23Add gobo first. Gobo goes in before any other vegetable because it is the densest,
03:29most fibrous one, and it needs the longest contact with the hot fat
03:34to release its earthy fragrance. Stir 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.
03:52Keep 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
04:04with the pork fat. By the time the shitake and the konnyaku show up, the fat is already carrying the
04:11toasty nodes of everything that came before. You'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.
04:28If you want to skip that, high-quality store-bought dashi packets are a solid choice.
04:33From scratch, awasedashi with katsuobushi and kombu 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.
04:54Bringing up to a gentle simmer, not rolling boil, you want small lazy bubbles rising from the bottom
05:00around 90 to 95 degrees Celsius. Keep it gentle, let it bubble for about 10 minutes until the daikon
05:08is just tender enough to slide the chopstick into but still has a little bite to it.
05:13Add the negi and return your seared pork to the pot.
05:16Simmer for another 5 minutes. The 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 and overcooking it kills its fresh,
05:30sharp brightness.
05:32Now turn off the heat completely. This is important. From 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
06:02dissolve it through the mesh. If you do not have a miso strainer, scoop the miso into a small bowl
06:08with a few tablespoons of the hot broth, whisk it smooth and pour it back into the pot.
06:14Stay gently until it is fully incorporated.
06:17Now taste. Brands lie. The salt level swings wildly from one miso to the next,
06:24so there is no universal correct amount. Add 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
06:39and half a tablespoon of unsalted butter. I tested this recipe without the batter. The traditional version
06:46is already delicious but when I added batter, the broth gained this silky rounded body that smoothed out
06:53all the sharp edges. The ginger keeps it from feeling heavy. Together they turn a great soup into something
07:01you keep thinking about hours later. Ladle it into bowls, topped with finely chopped green onions,
07:08and if you like a little kick, a pinch of shichimitogarashi. This is the bowl that empties the pot before
07:14anyone gets a chance at seconds. Rich rendered pork fat with vegetables that have been slowly soaking in dashi.
07:22The quiet ham of butter and ginger underneath. And the kind of deep fermented warmth that only miso can give
07:31you.
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. And if you're ready to cook, grab the written
07:43instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on your screen.
07:49That's a wrap. You can find the full printable version of this recipe on my website,
07:53linked right here on the screen. If 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.
