A Taste of Home: Quick Pork Miso Soup (Tonjiru)
From the Japanese Embassy Kitchen: A Recipe by Chef Yamazaki
This special recipe comes from Chef Yamazaki, a renowned Residence Chef at the Japanese Embassy, who has brought the flavors of Japan to tables around the world. He's also a proud user of Taski knives—and this dish is a perfect example of everyday cooking made joyful with well-crafted tools.
Tonjiru is hearty, nourishing, and surprisingly easy to make. Even if you don’t have every single ingredient on hand, feel free to adapt. The beauty of this soup lies in its flexibility—and in the quiet comfort it brings.
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 100g sliced pork belly
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 Japanese leek (negi)
- 150g carrot
- 1/4 sweet potato
- 8 small taro (satoimo)
- 120g daikon radish
- 100g burdock root (gobo)
- 100g napa cabbage
- 1/2 pack shimeji mushrooms
- 80g deep-fried tofu (aburaage or atsuage)
- 100g fish cakes (satsuma-age or other nerimono)
- 1 liter Japanese-style dashi stock
- Miso paste (to taste)
- Sesame oil (as needed)
-
Shichimi spice (optional)
How to Cook
1. Prep your ingredients
Slice pork and cut all vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
2. Sauté the pork
Heat sesame oil in a pot and sauté the pork until lightly browned. Then add harder vegetables like carrot, daikon, taro, and burdock root.
3. Simmer
Pour in the dashi stock and let everything simmer for 15–20 minutes.
4. Add soft ingredients
Add mushrooms, tofu, fish cakes, and cabbage. Continue cooking for another 5–10 minutes.
5. Finish with miso
Turn off the heat, dissolve in miso paste, and stir gently.
Serve
Garnish with optional shichimi spice and serve warm.
