Kenchinjiru is a clear soup with a lot of vegetables. This meatless but hearty hot soup is a great dish in colder weather, and perfect to serve a big crowd for various gatherings in fall and winter. There is a lot of cutting involved, but it is quite easy and simple to make.
Ingredients for Kenchinjiru depend on regions and families. A lot of times though, many root vegetables such as Daikon radish, carrot, Gobo burdock root, are included. This is a very casual kind of soup rather than one with a pretty look. Tofu is used in broken pieces which can absorb flavorful vegetable broth better through rough and uneven surfaces. Satoimo, or Taro root, is like a thick potato, and makes the soup more filling. There are these staple vegetables for Kenchinjiru, but you can put other vegetables you like. Spinach would add more nutrition, and Nappa cabbage may give more texture. Sometimes mushrooms like Shiitake and Shimeji are used too that contain a lot of Umami flavors. The only thing you don’t see in Kenchinjiru is meat or fish. Kenchinjiru is a part of Shojin cuisine, vegetarian food for Buddhist monks, and that may be the reason nobody puts any pork or chicken in it.
We used regular Dashi with Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), but use Kombu only Dashi when you want it to be a true vegetarian dish. Try this healthy but tasty soup on cold nights. It will warm you up very well!
Kenchinjiru Recipe
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Peel and cut Daikon into thin 1/4 circles. Peel and slice carrot into thin 1/2 circles. Peel and cut Satoimo into 1/4″ (6 mm) rounds. Cut Aburaage thinly into strips. Scrape the surface of Gobo and slice diagonally and thinly. Tear Konnyaku into small pieces by hand. Cut green onions into 1/2″ lengths (1.2 mm).
- Add all the cut vegetables (except green onions) into hot Dashi, and cook at medium low heat, covered, until tender. Add Tofu to the soup, breaking into pieces.
- Season with salt, Sake, and Soy Sauce, and stir. Adjust the saltiness to your taste.
- Add green onions and cook for a minute.
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