Tender pork and soft tofu stewed in a sweet onion and miso broth. This winter warming Pork Miso Soup requires a bit of patience but trust me, it’s worth it. The broth gets thick and is more like a stew than a soup and tofu isn’t your thing, just add more pork!
Why I Love This Recipe
The recipe is inspired by a bowl I had in Niigata, Japan, and it was love at first sip. It was the tastiest bowl of Tonjiru I ever had, sooo perfect and cosy for when it’s snowing outside or in the depths of a British winter. I knew I had to recreate something similar and this is what I came up with. It’s also got my Grandma’s seal of approval, so I’m happy with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tonjiru is a Japanese stew like dish with made with pork and miso paste. You will often find other vegetables in it like burdock root, daikon or carrots. This version only has onions but feel free to add in more veg. Root vegetables work best with this soup.
You can by omitting the pork and dashi stock but they both add a lot of flavour. If you can source vegetarian/vegan dashi then that would be good.
Use whatever you can find. If you are using a thicker cut of pork, add it in earlier so it has a chance to become soft and tender. A tip for thinly slicing pork belly – freeze the pork for approximately 45 minutes and slice as thin as possible using a sharp knife.
Ingredients List
- 4 Large Onions.
- 1.4 litres of Dashi Stock (Japanese soup stock).
- 350 grams of Thinly Sliced Pork Belly.
- 400 grams Medium firm Tofu.
- 3-4 tablespoons of White Miso Paste
How to Make Pork Miso Soup
Detailed Step by Step instructions.
Please note that the images show steps for half a portion of this recipe, for example, images have 2 onions but the recipe calls for 4.
- Slice 4 Onions.
Slice the onions pole to pole (vertically). This ruptures less of the onion cells and results in less teary eyes and avoids a mushy textured soup.
- Add the onions into 1.4 litres of cold dashi stock.
Add 1.4 litres of dashi stock, 4 sliced onions and a good sprinkle of salt into a pot and bring to a simmer. Be sure to keep a lid on the pot throughout the whole cooking process. If you’re using dashi powder/granules, follow the package instructions for water to stock ratio.
- Gently Simmer the onions for an hour.
Gently simmer the onions and occasionally stir. The onions will start to break down, turn soft and translucent. The broth turn cloudy and slightly thicker. If you are using thicker cuts of pork, like the image is showing, add it in at this stage.
- Add in the Pork.
Once the onions have simmered for an hour, add in the pork and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. If you cannot source thinly sliced pork, use whatever you can find. If it’s a thicker cut (like the image), slice as thin as you can and it add in with the onions. See recipe card for tips on how to thinly slice thicker cuts of meat.
- Add in the Tofu.
Cube the tofu and add into the pot, simmer for another 15 minutes. Take care when stirring to avoid breaking the cubes. Tofu doesn’t need to be cooked for a long time.
- Create Miso mixture.
Add 3 (or 4, see below step) tablespoons of Miso paste into a container with 6-7 tablespoons of hot broth from the pot, mix until you get a pourable consistency.
- Final Step: Add in Miso mixture.
Depending on your preferences you might want to add more or less miso, start by adding less and taste test as you go. Switch off the cooker and pour in the miso mixture and gently combine. Always turn off the heat when adding miso as cooking miso on a high heat totally changes the flavour.
Pin this Recipe on Pinterest
Pork Miso Soup (Tonjiru)
Ingredients
- 4 Large Onions
- 1.4 liters Dashi stock (if using stock powder, follow package instructions for water to powder ratio)
- 300 grams Thinly sliced Pork Belly (see notes on other cuts)
- 400 grams Medium Firm Tofu
- 3-4 tbsp White Miso Paste (add more or less depending on your preference)
Instructions
- Cut the onions in half and then slice into thin strips vertically.
- Add 1.4 litres of cold dashi stock into a pot. Add in the sliced onions and a good sprinkle of salt and cover with a lid.
- Bring to a simmer and continue to cook on a low simmer for an hour whilst occasionally mixing.
- Add in the pork and cover with a lid for another 15 minutes.
- Cube the Tofu and add into the pot. Gently mix and simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Mix together 3 or 4 (depending how much miso flavour you want, see detailed step by step for more info) tbsp of miso paste with 6-7 tbsp of hot broth from pot to create a pourable mixture.
- Switch off the heat and pour in the miso mixture.
- Serve hot with a bowl of rice.
Notes
What to Eat with Pork Miso Soup?
A bowl of white rice or Japanese Mushroom Rice goes super well with this soup. If you want something fresh to go with it, a Sesame Cucumber Salad would work nicely too!
Inspiration Notes
As I mentioned earlier, this recipe is inspired by a restaurant I visited in Niigata. These guys are the experts so if you ever get a chance, check them out!
