Uchimame-jiru (Flattened Soybean Miso Soup)

Quick answer

Total time: 85 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Uchimame-jiru is a Shiga winter soup built around uchimame, soybeans soaked, briefly boiled, rested hot, and flattened one by one with a wooden mallet into flower-like discs.

The beans first simmer in dashi with one quarter of the miso, then taro, turnip, aburaage, tofu, and the remaining miso complete the pot. Flattening lets soybeans cook faster than whole beans, absorb seasoning through the center, and release nutty body into the broth. The method developed as a way to preserve winter protein in snowy northern Shiga and the soup is often served as oko-jiru during Buddhist Hoonko gatherings. Sweet turnip and taro, soft tofu and fried tofu, and tender flattened beans create several gentle textures in one bowl. Even thickness and early seasoning of the beans define the result.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
dried soybeans	40	g
taro	2	piece
turnip	1	piece
aburaage fried tofu	1	sheet
tofu	0.333	block
Japanese leek	1	stalk
dashi stock	800	ml
miso	70	g

Instructions

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

7 steps

1

Heat

Wash the soybeans, discard damaged ones, and soak in cold water for 1 hour.

Boil for 3 minutes and drain without cooling.
2

Heat

Cook the soaked soybeans completely through in a food-safe pressure cooker or steamer.

Do not hold them for a long time in a warm insulated container and bag; remove the cooked beans one at a time while hot.
3

Step

Place one bean on a firm flat board and tap once or twice with a wooden mallet into a thin flower-like disc.

Keep every bean similar in thickness.
4

Control

Put the uchimame, 800 ml dashi, and 17.5 g miso in a pot and pre-simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Skim foam and stir occasionally so beans do not stick.
5

Prep

Cut the turnip into quarter-rounds and peeled taro into bite-size pieces.

Pour hot water over the aburaage and cut into 3 cm strips. Cube tofu at 2 cm and slice the leek.
6

Control

Add the turnip, taro, and aburaage and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until a skewer enters the taro easily.

Dissolve the remaining 52.5 g miso in a ladle of soup, add with the tofu, and heat only 3 minutes.
7

Finish

Divide among four bowls so each receives uchimame, vegetables, and tofu.

Scatter the sliced leek evenly and serve hot.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Soybeans soak, boil briefly, and are flattened one by one while hot.
Finish cue: Divide among four bowls so each receives uchimame, vegetables, and tofu.
Avoid this: Do not hold them for a long time in a warm insulated container and bag; remove the cooked beans one at a time while hot.