Pork Miso Soup

A hearty miso soup with thinly sliced pork, tofu, mushrooms and root vegetables.

Ingredients

• Sesame Oil (clear - non-roasted type): 2 tsp (10 ml)
• Fresh Ginger, finely chopped: 1/2 tsp (5 g)
• Shallot (green part), finely chopped: 10cm (20 g)
• Shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced: 25 g
• Salty Koji : 1 tsp
• Carrot, thinly sliced: 80 g
• Daikon, peeled, thinly sliced, and cut into bite-size pieces: 120 g
• Sweet Potato (purple or orange), peeled and cubed (1cm): 80 g
• Firm Tofu, cubed (1cm): 100 g
• Pork, thinly sliced (available from Asian grocery stores), cut into 3cm pieces: 100 g
• Water: 800 ml
• Miso (White Rice medium-aged): 10 to 12 g per bowl
• Sesame Oil (dark - roasted): a dash per bowl
• Shallot (white part), finely chopped: one generous pinch per bowl
• Bonito Flakes: one good pinch per bowl

Preparation

1. Prepare all the ingredients according to the instructions next to the ingredients list.

Cooking

1. In a heavy pot, add sesame oil, ginger, shallot, and shiitake mushrooms. Heat with low heat for a few minutes until sizzling, then add salty koji.
2. Add carrot, daikon, and sweet potato to the pot. Mix well so all ingredients are coated with oil and salty koji.
3. Cook with low heat for 5 minutes until vegetables start to sweat.
4. Add tofu and pork on top of the vegetables. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
5. Mix the contents and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. By then, the carrot and daikon should start becoming translucent and soft.
6. Add water to the pot and cook over medium heat until it reaches the boiling point.
7. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Serving

1. Prepare the ingredients listed for the serving bowl in four bowls. Distribute the soup evenly between them. Mix well until the miso is completely dissolved. Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds if desired.