Satsuma Jiru (Miso-Flavored Pork & Vegetable Stew)
Submitted by thebigredone
Satsuma Jiru is a hearty Japanese miso pork and vegetable stew with daikon, sweet potato, shiitake mushrooms, konnyaku, and burdock root. A rustic regional comfort soup finished with shichimi togarashi.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
45 minREADY
65 minSatsuma Jiru is a rustic Japanese pork and vegetable stew from the Kagoshima region (formerly Satsuma province) in southern Japan. It’s hearty home cooking built on a pork bone broth with miso stirred in at the very end, keeping its flavor alive and uncooked-tasting rather than muddled from a long simmer.
The vegetable lineup reads like a tour of a Japanese market: daikon, konnyaku (konjac), shiitake mushrooms, sweet potato, burdock root (gobo), and carrots. Each one is cut into thin strips so they cook evenly and look beautiful in the bowl. The ingredients go in stages, harder vegetables first, softer ones later, so nothing turns to mush.
Rub the miso through a strainer with the back of a spoon rather than dumping it in. This dissolves it evenly and prevents salty clumps hiding at the bottom of the pot.
Kitchen Tips
- Blanch the konnyaku before adding it to the broth. This removes its natural alkaline smell and improves the texture.
- Peel the gobo (burdock root) into thin shavings rather than chopping. The peelings have the most flavor and cook quickly.
- Don’t boil the stew after adding the miso. High heat destroys miso’s complex flavors and beneficial enzymes.
Variations
- Substitute chicken thigh for pork if you prefer a lighter version.
- Add a handful of cubed firm tofu along with the sweet potato for extra protein.
- Finish each bowl with a drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkle of shichimi togarashi for warmth.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut Konnyaku into strips ¼ inch wide and 2 inch long.
Peel Carrot and cut into strips 2 inch long and ¼ inch wide.
Cut Daikon into strips ¼ inch wide and 1inch long.
PREPARE IN ADVANCE: Bring ⅜ pint of water to boil and drop in diced pork.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Cover pork bones with 2½ pint cold water, bring to boil uncovered.
Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes strain broth.
Set aside pork and broth.
Bring ⅜ pint water to boil and drop in Konnyaku, return to boil, Steam Shiitake for 4 minutes, discard stalks, slice caps into strips. Peel gobo to make 3 tablespoons of peelings, discard root. TO COOK: Drop the Konnyaku into the pan of pork broth and bring to boil over low heat. Add carrot and Daikon strips and raise heat. Bring to full boil, add Sweet potato and mushroom strips. Skim off foam. Cook for 5 more minutes and, with the back of a spoon, rub in the miso in through a strainer. Stir in MSG. Stir in the Gobo (if used). TO SERVE: Transfer soup to a large serving bowl, sprinkle onions over the top, and add spice.
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