Posted on January 23, 2019
Tonjiru is one of my favorite go-to recipes whenever I feel under the weather or need something comfort-foody-ish. It's a pretty simple process, just cooking each section in batches takes a little time. You can also opt to use instant dashi, but I prefer making my own from scratch. You don't need all the ingredients - sometimes I make with just onions and potatoes. You can substitute the sliced pork belly for thicker cut bacon or other cuts of pork as well.
Tonjiru Recipe:
A: (Dashi)
1 small sheet of dried kombu
handful of hana-katsuo
5 C of water
B: (Meat!)
Pork belly or bacon, 2-3 slices, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 T chopped ginger
sesame oil
C: (Veggies!)
1 T vegetable oil (or some neutral flavored oil)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, sliced into moons
1 yukon gold potato, peeled and sliced into bite-sized pieces, rinsed and dried
1/2 block of konnyaku, drained and sliced into bite-sized pieces
D:
4-5 T of miso (I like awase, without dashi in it.)
E: (Toppings)
chopped green onions
shichimi togarashi pepper, to taste
To make the dashi, soak the kombu in about 5 cups of water for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight). Gently boil until you see tiny bubbles in the pot, take out the kombu, raise the heat to bring the water to a boil. Add the katsuo flakes, boil for a few seconds, then turn off heat and let steep for about 10 minutes. Drain in a sieve or mesh collander and put the dashi stock back in the pot. Can make this ahead and store in the fridge - just warm it up before starting the cooking process.
Heat a frying pan with a little sesame oil and fry the pork with the chopped ginger until browned. Put onto a plate on the side. Heat the frying pan again with a little vegetable oil and fry the onions till soft - usually 5 minutes. Add in carrots, then potatoes, and konnyaku and fry until the potatoes brown a little. Add to the dashi pot, add the meat and bring to a boil. Skim off the fat that rises to the top and lower heat to a gentle simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are softened and can be skewered with a toothpick.
Turn off the heat. Spoon some stock into a small bowl and add the miso to loosen it up, then pour the miso into the pot. (Be sure not to boil the miso!)
Serve with green onions and season with a little shichimi togarashi pepper.
Enjoy!
Share this: