Dongame-jiru (Eggplant and Sesame Miso Soup)

Quick answer

Total time: 37 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 5

About this dish

Dongame-jiru is a summer soup from the Koto region of Shiga.

Eggplants are halved and crosshatched diagonally through the skin, soaked, then simmered in dashi with finely ground rice porridge until tender. Miso and a large amount of toasted ground sesame finish the soup. The scored purple skin resembles a turtle shell, while sesame dispersed through the broth looks like mud, giving the name mud turtle soup. Ground porridge gives slight body and slows the sesame from settling immediately. Add miso and sesame only after the eggplant is fully soft and do not return the soup to a hard boil, which dulls their aroma.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
eggplants	2	piece
sesame seeds	60	g
dashi	600	ml
miso	45	g
plain rice porridge	40	ml

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Prep

Trim two eggplants and halve lengthwise.

Score skin diagonally in both directions at 3mm intervals to 4mm deep; cut large halves once crosswise.
2

Prep

Soak scored eggplant in cold water for 10 minutes, turning once.

Drain and blot water from the skin and cuts with paper towels.
3

Step

Grind 40ml rice porridge in a mortar for 2 minutes until grains nearly disappear.

Transfer to a small bowl and loosen with 60ml of the dashi.
4

Control

Toast 60g sesame in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 4 to 6 minutes.

When a few seeds pop and smell nutty, grind until some oil emerges but stop before a smooth paste forms.
5

Control

Bring the remaining 540ml dashi, loosened porridge, and eggplant to a boil.

Reduce to low, cover, and simmer 10 to 12 minutes until chopsticks enter the eggplant center easily.
6

Control

Dissolve 45g miso in a ladle of broth and return it.

Over low heat just below boiling, add ground sesame, stir evenly for 30 seconds, turn off heat, and divide among four bowls.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Eggplant skin crosshatched diagonally every 3mm
Finish cue: Dissolve 45g miso in a ladle of broth and return it.
Avoid this: Add miso and sesame only after the eggplant is fully soft and do not return the soup to a hard boil, which dulls their aroma.