Kenojiru (Tsugaru Root Vegetable and Soybean Soup)

Quick answer

Total time: 220 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients: 11

About this dish

Kenojiru is a Tsugaru Little New Year soup from Aomori.

Daikon, carrot, burdock, prepared bracken and butterbur, aburaage, freeze-dried tofu, soybeans, and kombu are diced to about 5mm so the pieces resemble grains of rice, then simmered with red miso. Part of the cooked soybeans is mashed into zunda, giving the broth gentle body. Cook firm roots first, cool the large batch promptly, and reheat only the portion being served.

Ingredients (10 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
daikon	2000	g
carrot	600	g
burdock root	350	g
prepared edible bracken	500	g
prepared butterbur stalks	600	g
aburaage	150	g
rehydrated freeze-dried tofu	800	g
cooked or steamed soybeans	600	g
kombu for stock	40	g
kombu for the soup	20	g
red miso	400	g

Instructions

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

6 steps

1

Heat

Wipe 40g stock kombu with a damp cloth and soak it in 7L water for 30 minutes.

Heat over medium and remove just before boiling to make clear stock. Soak the separate 20g soup kombu for 20 minutes.
2

Prep

Dice 2kg daikon, 600g carrot, and 350g burdock into 5mm pieces, soaking the burdock in cold water for 5 minutes before draining.

Cut 500g prepared bracken, 600g butterbur, and the soaked soup kombu into 5mm pieces.
3

Finish

Pour hot water over 150g aburaage to remove excess oil and dice it 5mm.

Press moisture from 800g rehydrated dried tofu and dice it 5mm. Reserve 300g of the 600g cooked soybeans whole and coarsely mash the remaining 300g into zunda.
4

Control

Bring the stock to a boil in a large pot and add daikon, carrot, and burdock.

Skim and simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes. Add bracken, butterbur, soup kombu, aburaage, dried tofu, and whole soybeans and cook 20 minutes more.
5

Control

Dissolve 400g red miso smoothly in 500ml hot broth and stir it into the pot.

Add the mashed zunda and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring so it does not catch. Stop when all pieces are tender and the broth has slight body.
6

Finish

Serve the needed portion hot.

Do not leave the large pot at room temperature; divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Use within 3 days and reheat only what is needed, stirring until the whole portion boils for at least 1 minute.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Ten ingredients finely diced near 5mm
Finish cue: Stop when all pieces are tender and the broth has slight body.
Avoid this: Do not leave the large pot at room temperature; divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours.
Storage and reheating: Daikon, carrot, burdock, prepared bracken and butterbur, aburaage, freeze-dried tofu, soybeans, and kombu are diced to about 5mm so the pieces resemble grains of rice, then simmered with red miso.