Japanese Tonjiru: Pork Miso Soup and the Hearty Winter Bowl

Ingredients

• 300 g pork belly or shoulder, sliced thin
• 1 piece gobo (burdock root), scrubbed, cut into irregular chunks
• 150 g daikon, cut into chunky half-moons
• 1 medium carrot, cut into chunky rounds or half-moons
• 200 g satoimo (taro), peeled, cut into chunky pieces
• 100 g konnyaku, torn or cut into irregular pieces
• 1 litre dashi, prepared
• 60 g akamiso (red miso) or blend of red and white miso, dissolved in a small amount of warm broth before adding

Method

1. 1
   Place a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the sliced pork in a single layer — no oil. Render skin-side or fat-side down for 2 minutes before turning. Continue to sauté until fat runs freely and the edges of the pork show clear Maillard browning. The pan should smell of caramelised meat fat, not steamed pork.
2. 2
   Add the gobo, daikon, carrot, satoimo, and konnyaku directly to the rendered fat in the pot. Toss to coat each piece. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have absorbed the pork fat and their cut surfaces take on a light gloss. They should feel slightly yielding at the very edge when pressed with a spoon.
3. 3
   Pour in the dashi. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until all root vegetables are completely tender throughout — daikon and satoimo should offer no resistance to a skewer. The broth will have turned a pale, opaque gold from the pork fat and browning compounds.
4. 4
   Remove the pot from the heat. Dissolve the miso in a ladleful of warm broth, then stir the dissolved paste back into the pot. Do not return to a boil. The broth should taste of full, rounded pork-enriched miso depth — savoury and sustaining, with no raw fermented edge.
5. 5
   Ladle into deep bowls, distributing pork and vegetables evenly. Serve immediately alongside steamed rice and tsukemono (pickles). The surface of each bowl should carry a faint sheen of pork fat.