pork tonjiru udon

ingredients

• 700 grams pork ribeye chops, 3/4 to 1 inch
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
• 2 celery stalks, sliced thin on the bias
• 6 fresh shiitake, stemmed and sliced
• 1 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
• 1.6 liters water
• 5 teaspoons powdered dashi
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 4 tablespoons miso
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons mirin
• 4 frozen udon blocks
• 1 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoons sesame seeds

steps

1. Firm and slice the pork: Put 700 grams pork ribeye chops, 3/4 to 1 inch in the freezer for 20 minutes so it slices cleanly. Trim the fat cap off and dice it small, keep it separate. Slice the meat about 1/4 inch thick against the grain. If bone-in, save the bones.
2. Render the fat: Cold pot, medium-low heat. Add the diced fat cap and let it render for 5 to 6 minutes until you have a slick of fat and browned bits. Discard the solids if they go hard. If the yield looks thin, add 1 teaspoons sesame oil now instead of at the end.
3. Sweat the vegetables: Raise to medium. Add 1 medium onion, sliced, 2 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin, 2 celery stalks, sliced thin on the bias, 6 fresh shiitake, stemmed and sliced and 1 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated. Cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns translucent and the mushrooms give up their water. No color needed.
4. Build the broth: Add 1.6 liters water, 5 teaspoons powdered dashi and 2 tablespoons sake, plus any pork bones. Bring to a simmer and hold 12 minutes, skimming foam off the top. Carrot should be just tender. Pull the bones out.
5. Cook the pork: Drop the sliced 700 grams pork ribeye chops, 3/4 to 1 inch into the simmering broth, separating the pieces as they go in. 90 seconds is enough. Kill the heat.
6. Miso in, off the heat: Ladle a cup of hot broth into a bowl, whisk 4 tablespoons miso into it until smooth, pour it back. Never add miso to the pot dry, and never boil after this point. Taste now. Add 1 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoons mirin only if it needs depth. Salt is more likely to be a problem than a shortage, so go up slowly.
7. Noodles separately: Boil 4 frozen udon blocks in a separate pot of plain water, about 60 seconds from frozen. Drain well. Never cook them in the soup, the starch clouds it.
8. Assemble: Noodles into the bowls first, then ladle the soup over so the pork and vegetables land on top. Finish with 1 tablespoons sesame seeds and a few drops of 1 teaspoons sesame oil.

notes

Powdered dashi is already salty, which is why the miso starts at 4 tbsp rather than the 7 or 8 a recipe this size would normally call for. Taste at step 6 and climb from there.

The one place this can go wrong is step 6. Whisk the miso into a ladle of broth first, then taste before adding any soy, because hondashi plus miso stacks salt faster than you expect.

Missing pieces worth adding if you find them: daikon gives tonjiru its backbone, negi or green onion on top, and shichimi at the table. Without daikon, the celery is doing more work than usual.

Leftovers reheat to just under a simmer, never a boil. Store the noodles separately or they turn to paste.

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