Tara Jappa-jiru (Whole-Cod Miso Soup)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 90 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 10 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Everything left after filleting a cod, from the head, backbone and skin to the liver, roe or milt, goes into one big pot here.
Read more
Jappa means scraps in the Tsugaru dialect of Aomori, yet these parts make a full-bodied winter miso soup. Liver mashed into the broth near the end gives it a soft richness, and fresh milt is treated as a prize. In Tsugaru cod was the fish for welcoming the New Year; families bought a whole large one at year's end and dragged it home over snowy roads, which gave rise to the phrase tara shogatsu, cod New Year.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth and soak in 2000 ml water for 30 minutes.
Heat gently and remove the kombu just before boiling.
- 2
Split the cod head lengthwise and cut the backbone into 5 to 7 cm pieces.
Discard gills, gallbladder, and gut contents; rinse fresh edible liver, roe, or milt repeatedly in cold water and keep separate.
- 3
Pour boiling water over the head, bones, and skin, then rinse immediately in cold water to remove blood clots and scales.
Chop the liver for later mashing and leave roe or milt in large pieces.
- 4
Cut the daikon into 1 cm quarter-rounds, carrot into 7 mm half-moons, and leeks diagonally at 1 cm.
Bring the kombu stock to a boil with the cod head, bones, and skin.
- 5
Skim thoroughly when boiling, then add daikon, carrot, and sake.
Simmer with the lid ajar over medium-low for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender and cod flesh releases from bone.
- 6
Add roe or milt, if present, and cook 5 minutes.
Dissolve miso in two ladles of broth, add with the mashed liver, and simmer gently 3 to 5 minutes, until every cod part reaches at least 63°C.
- 7
Add the leeks and cook only 1 minute.
Divide broth and solids among ten bowls, keeping large head and backbone pieces visible so diners can remove flesh safely. Serve hot.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
農林水産省 · Checked: 2026-08-11
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