Tonjiru: Back to our roots

Fall is the perfect season for root veggies, and Japanese cooking is all about seasonal ingredients! Tonjiru is a type of pork stew flavored with ginger that incorporates the best of nature's underground medicinal candies, namely:

• Sato Imo Translated literally, sato imo means "village potato"; American people may know it as "taro".  Dirty in appearance with a rough exterior, their taste is similar to the potatoes we know but with a sticky texture; as a general rule with Japanese food, anything sticky is good for you. Because eating sato imo encourages natural production of hyaluronic acid in the body, it is believed that sato imo has incredible anti-aging powers. Evidence can be seen in the Japanese village of Yuzuri Hara, where it is common for residents to live well into their 90s and skin cancer is virtually non-existent. 

Sato Imo

• Konyakku Ever wonder why, despite smoking heavily chimneys indoors and out, Japanese people seem to suffer from lung cancer far less frequently than Americans? It may just be because they eat konyakku, which is thought to clean up the lungs. While this is NOT an excuse to smoke ciggies, you may want to reap it's benefits- especially if you suffer from asthma. Incidentally, it is also one of the frequently consumed root vegetables in Yuzuri Hara.   

Konnyaku

(here we used the noodle form, but it's also available in a gelatinous form with a slightly brown hue.)

• Daikon Aka Japanese radish. Daikon is especially effective for soothing an achy tummy. 
• Gobo We know this Northern European root as Burdock, but the Japanese put it to use just as well in tonjiru and other dishes. In addition to being an excellent source of potassium, it contains inulin, which helps regulate sugar and cholesterol levels in the blood.

Gobo

• Carrot (Ninjin) This needs no introduction. Carrots are full of vitamins A, B, and C as well as beta carotene. According to my fiancee, Japanese mothers also tell their kids that eating lots of carrots will enable them to one day see in the dark.
• Ginger An incredible immune booster, this is one of the best ingredients you can eat during flu season. Why do you think "lemon ginger tea" is popping up on cafe menus so often these days?

Turning them into tonjiru:

• Boil 4 sato imo for about 10 minutes. Remove from water and let cool.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and combine 1 carrot (chopped), 1/8 daikon (sliced), 1/4 pkg. enoki, 8 shitake mushrooms, and 1/4 onion. 
• Peel the sato imo (thanks to their stickiness, it is a bit of a pain to do this with a normal potato peeler. If you're not the patient type, just use a knife.) Add to the large pot and continue to boil. Be sure to scoop out the dirty bubbles with a teaspoon from time to time!
• Add 1/2 package konyakku
• Peel 4 gobo and grate them over the pot
• Add 3 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 

  Age Tofu (fried tofu)

  
  

  chop about half pkg age tofu and add to pot  
• Add 2 wooden spoon sized scoop of red (aka) miso and about half pound of very thinly sliced pork. Boil five min more minutes.

Bring them all to a boil.......

• Grate ginger to taste and serve!

Ta-da! Tonjiru desu