Tonjiru (豚汁)

I planned to cook this soup for weeks! Finally got a chance to cook it for lunch today. We have been busy with outings and dinners for the last few weeks, I can hardly find time for cooking dishes planned. My fridge is packed with lots of vegetables and meats, hopefully they are still in edible condition!

Back to the soup, tonjiru (aka butajiru) literally mean pork soup. It is made from thin slices of pork and various types of vegetables, flavoured with miso. My version is without the common ingredients such as potato, burdock and konyaku, but added seaweed. If you like to eat potato, just throw in some small chunks. As for burdock, cut into strip then soak in the water before adding it into the soup. T had his soup with some butter (1 tsp for a bowl of soup), he said it was his dad's style... give it a try?

Just a quick tip before you start cooking. Keep pork or chicken (if you can't take pork for some reasons) in the freezer until it is almost frozen, then you will be able to slice it thinly.

Ingredients (2 servings):
50-60g thinly sliced pork
8-10 slices lotus root
8-10 slices carrot or small chunk
8-10 slices radish
Handful sliced leek
Handful sliced onion
Some dried wakame, rinsed
3-4 cup dashi stock
2-3 tbsp miso
½ tbsp cooking oil
Chopped shallot/spring onion for garnish

Methods:

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pot. Saute pork, lotus root, carrot, radish and onion.
2. Add dashi stock, bring to boil then simmer over medium heat.
3. Place miso in a bowl, and dilute it with the hot stock. When the vegetables are soften, return miso mixture to pot, add in leek and wakame. Bring to boil, then remove from heat.
4. Garnish with chopped shallot, serve warm with steamed rice.