Butajiru

nihongo|Tonjiru or Butajiru|豚汁 - both literally mean pig/pork soup - is a Japanese soup made with pork and vegetables, flavoured with miso.

Compared to normal miso soup, "tonjiru" tend to be more substantial, with a larger quantity and variety of ingredients added to the soup.

It is often eaten after marathons and other long distance races.

Common ingredients

"Tonjiru" is usually made by stewing thinly sliced pieces of pork, alongside vegetables, in "dashi" stock, and flavoured by dissolving miso.

Mildly degreased (not crispy) bacon can be used in place of pork.

Common additional ingredients include gobo, konjac, seaweed, spring onions, daikon radish, carrot, tofu including fried tofu (aburaage), tubers such as potatoes, taro or sweet potato, and mushrooms such as shiitake and shimeji.

Naming

The name "tonjiru" is said to be dominant in Eastern Japan, while the name "butajiru" is said to be more common in Western Japan, Hokkaidō, and generally among older people.

A version of the dish, containing sweet potatoes, as served to skiiers in the ski resorts of Niigata Prefecture up until about 1960, is known as "sukii-jiru" ("skiing-soup").

External links

* [http://www.teanobi.com/recipe/japanese/dinner/Butajiru.html Butajiru (Japanese Pork Soup) - Teanobi.com Forum Index -> Japanese Food Recipes]
* [http://japanesefood.about.com/od/soup/r/tonjiru.htm Tonjiru Recipe - Miso Soup - About.com]