Tonjiru (Pork and Vegetables Miso Soup)

Tonjiru or butajiru is a soup made with pork and miso, but its taste is very different from the traditional miso soup. This is the only dish I remember I liked when I was a baby. I mean it, I was a baby. My mom would serve it in a shallow plastic dish with some short grain rice, and I was delighted.

My version has some variations from the original dish. I added ginger and sesame oil instead of vegetable oil. I do not use konnyaku just because it’s a little hard to find and not everyone likes it. I am using potato instead of baby yam because of the same reason. However, I love baby yam! For Brazilians that are interested, the baby yam is called “inhame” in Brazil. Today I also added some left over tofu.

Mi’s Tonjiru (Pork, Vegetables and Miso Soup)

4 Servings

Ingredients:

1 tsp sesame oil

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1/4 lb lean pork, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 gobo (burdock root), peeled and shaved into very thin slices

(I use the vegetable peeler to shave them)

1 medium potato (or 5 baby yams), peeled and cut into bite size pieces

1/2 carrot, peeled and cut into thin quarter-rounds

1/4 daikon radish, peeled and cut into thin and small rectangles

4 cup dashi soup stock (see miso soup recipe)

2 - 3 tbsp white miso

2 green onion springs, thinly sliced

Seven-spice chili mix (optional)

 Directions:

Soak gobo strips in water for 5 minutes in plenty of water and drain.

Heat sesame oil in a stock pot and quickly saute pork and ginger over high heat. Add potato, carrot, gobo, daikon radish to the pot and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the dashi soup stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, skim off any foam that rise to the surface, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Dissolve miso in the soup and add chopped green onions. Remove from heat just before it starts boiling. Serve immediately.

Asian Pork Noodle Salad

I had lettuce, carrots and cucumbers from the CSA in my fridge. What should I make? Hum… it sounds like a salad or a Vietnamese dish. Since I have a pork tenderloin in the freezer, voila.

This is a great summer dish. I am combining the Vietnamese style with a Chinese dish called bifun. Instead of pork, tofu, shrimp, chicken, beef or just vegetables will taste great too!

Asian Pork Noodle Salad

4 servings

Ingredients

10 oz dried rice noodles

1 cups shredded red or green leaf lettuce

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup julienne-cut carrots

1/2 cup English cucumber, seeded, cut into thin matchsticks

1/3 cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped (or green onions)

1/3 cup basil leaves, julienne-cut

2 tablespoon soy sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar

3 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon dry mustard

8 oz Asian Pork Tenderloin*, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Cilantro springs for garnish

Directions

Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, water, sesame oil in a large bowl. Add noodles to the bowl and toss well.

Arrange lettuce, basil and mint at the bottom of four serving noodle bowls. Top each bowl with ¼ of the seasoned noodles, carrots, cucumber, bean sprouts and pork. Garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon peanuts, some cilantro springs. 

Asian Pork Tenderloin

8 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons  lite tamari

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/3  cup  packed light brown sugar

2  tablespoons  rice vinegar

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2" piece of fresh grated ginger

1  tablespoon  dry mustard

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 whole pork tenderloins

1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat and silver skin.

Put the 10 first ingredients into a 1-gallon resealable bag, and move around to combine. Add the pork tenderloins to the bag and seal, removing as much air as possible and place the bag on a plate. Refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours.

Remove pork from marinade and pat pork dry with paper towels.

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Sear the pork tenderloins on all sides until golden brown. Transfer pork to a foil lined roasting pan. Make sure the foil is big enough to wrap the pork later.

Bake at for about 10-15 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 145 degrees at the thickest part.

Remove from the oven wrap tightly with the aluminum foil from the pan.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Slice the pork into 1/4 inch-thick slices, spoon the hot marinade over the pork just before serving.