The weather in LA has been unseasonably cool and cloudy (with occasional rain) past few weeks. To take advantage (?) of this weather, I've been cooking a variety of steamy soup and stew dishes to keep my body warm lately.
Tonjiru
Tonjiru means "Pork Soup". It's a very rustic-style traditional miso soup with thinly sliced pork and vegetables. It's a very easy dish to make and you can use different kinds of vegetables. This time, I just made it with the ingredients I found in my fridge. Kids love tonjiru. I always remember my childhood when I drink tonjiru. I posted the recipe on toiro's website.
Tonjiru (made with the soup and stew donabe, "Miso-shiru Nabe"), and brown rice (made with the donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san"), made a perfect meal.
Sesame and Soy Milk Miso Soup
This is an untraditional dish with traditional Japanese ingredients. The main ingredients for the broth are the sesame paste, soy milk (pure kind), and miso, with the dashi stock. The flavor is so good and really irresistible. I put some thicker slices of pork and vegetables in the soup and it made the wonderful meal of its own. The recipe is found on toiro's website.
The procedure is very simple. I first sauteed the meat and vegetables before adding the broth. The soy milk makes the soft curdles, which not only look pretty (like the snow flakes), but also tastes like the fresh tofu!
