Version from Kakegawa, Japan
Kakegawa imojiru — Kakegawa, Japan
A miso soup built around simmered taro, root vegetables and thin pork slices, prepared in Kakegawa, a castle town in Japan's Shizuoka prefecture.
- 20 min
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 4
- Servings
- Easy
- Difficulty
Kakegawa imojiru is a miso-based soup centered on satoimo, a starchy taro root that turns creamy as it simmers, cooked together with root vegetables such as daikon and carrot, thin slices of pork, and often konnyaku, in a dashi broth finished with miso.
This version is cooked in Kakegawa, a castle town in Shizuoka prefecture on Japan's central Pacific coast, where the soup is served at local gatherings and community events, sometimes prepared in large pots for groups rather than as an everyday household dish.
The taro is peeled and cut into chunks, then simmered along with the daikon, carrot and pork in dashi until the vegetables soften and the taro releases some of its starch, lightly thickening the broth; miso is stirred in near the end so its aroma is not boiled away.
Compared with lighter miso soups built on tofu or wakame, this one is thicker and more filling because of the taro and the added pork, closer to a light stew than a clear broth. Households and cooks in the area vary the ratio of vegetables to meat and the type of miso used.
Preparation
Peel the taro and cut it into bite-sized chunks; cut the daikon and carrot into thin half-moons.
Slice the konnyaku thinly and blanch it briefly in boiling water.
Bring the dashi to a simmer and add the taro, daikon, carrot and konnyaku.
Simmer gently until the vegetables soften, skimming any foam from the surface.
Add the sliced pork and cook until it is no longer pink.
Remove from the heat, stir in the miso until dissolved, then warm through gently without boiling.
Ladle into bowls and scatter with sliced scallion.
