Japanese Kenchinjiru Regional Soup Stocks and Kamakura Temple Food Philosophy

Ingredients

• For the kombu dashi
• 10 g kombu (dried kelp), wiped clean with a damp cloth
• 1 litre cold water
• 150 g gobo (burdock root), scrubbed, peeled, cut into irregular chunks; soaked briefly in cold water to remove bitterness
• 150 g daikon, peeled, cut into half-rounds
• 100 g carrot, peeled, cut into irregular chunks
• 150 g satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato), peeled, cut into irregular chunks
• 150 g firm tofu (momen), drained, hand-broken into rough pieces
• 100 g konnyaku, torn into bite-sized pieces by hand; blanched briefly in boiling water to remove odour
• For seasoning
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu), added with restraint

Method

1. 1
   Combine the kombu and cold water in a pot. Bring slowly over low heat. Remove the kombu just before the water reaches a full boil — the dashi is ready when a faint marine fragrance rises and the water has taken on a pale amber colour.
2. 2
   Heat the sesame oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the gobo first; sauté alone for two minutes before adding the daikon, carrot, satsumaimo, tofu, and konnyaku in succession. Turn frequently. This is where the dish lives or dies: the vegetables must develop a light aromatic crust in the sesame oil — fragrance should be pronounced and nutty — before any liquid is added. Without this step the soup will be flat and thin, no matter how fine the dashi.
3. 3
   Pour the kombu dashi over the sautéed vegetables. Bring to a gentle simmer. Add the mirin and sake. Simmer until the root vegetables are fully tender — a bamboo skewer should meet no resistance at the centre of the daikon and satsumaimo.
4. 4
   Season with light soy sauce, added gradually. Taste: the soup's flavour should rest on clean vegetable sweetness and kombu umami; the soy only lifts and frames. Serve immediately, or reserve — the soup deepens and unifies further on reheating.