Name: Delicious Kenchinjiru Recipe: The Ultimate Japanese Vegetable Soup
Ingredients: Tofu; Daikon radish; Carrots; Shiitake mushrooms; Gobo (burdock root); Sesame seeds and oil; Wakame seaweed

Table of Contents

what is kenchinjiru?
Japanese Buddhist cuisine (shojin ryori)
where can you eat kenchinjiru?
why you might want to cook kenchinjiru
Here are a few tips for making a delicious kenchinjiru:

Love root vegetables? As someone who also enjoys them, this could soon be one of your favorite ways to cook them. Thanks to gobo (burdock root) this soup’s full of flavor, completely filling and perfect for anyone looking to explore flavorful vegetable soup variations in Japanese cuisine.

A pot of kenchinjiru, the Japanese root-vegetable soup, full of daikon, carrot, gobo, tofu and mushrooms.

what is kenchinjiru?

traditional Japanese

konbu

A shojin ryori spread, the vegetarian Japanese Buddhist temple cuisine, with small dishes arranged on a tray.

Japanese Buddhist cuisine (shojin ryori)

japanese ingredients

Tofu: A versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of dishes, such as soups, stews, and stir-fries.
Daikon radish: A large, white radish that has a mild, slightly sweet flavor. It is often used in soups and stews, or simmered just like this nimono (Japanese simmered food)
Carrots: Used to add sweetness and color to dishes.
Shiitake mushrooms: Add a rich, savory flavor to soups and stews.
Gobo: also known as burdock root, this long, brown root vegetable has a wonderful earthy, nutty and slightly bitter taste.
Sesame seeds and sesame oil: Used to add flavor and texture to dishes.
Wakame seaweed: A type of seaweed that is often used in soups and salads.

Mt. Koya, Japan

where can you eat kenchinjiru?

traditional Japanese restaurants

izakaya

why you might want to cook kenchinjiru

Here are a few tips for making a delicious kenchinjiru:

Use high-quality dashi: Dashi is the base of the soup, so it’s important to use a good quality dashi to get the best flavor. You can make your own vegetarian dashi using my recipe here, or if you prefer the flavor of fish, you can try this one. And of course the ever so convenient instant dashi powder or granules too.
Don’t overcook the vegetables: Kenchinjiru is best when the vegetables are cooked just until they are tender but still retain their color and shape. Overcooking them will make them mushy and possibly disintegrate. (Daikon radish especially)
Adjust the seasoning to your taste: You can adjust the soy sauce and sesame oil to suit your taste. Add some ichimi or shichimi red pepper flakes.
Add protein of your choice: Kenchinjiru is traditionally made with tofu, but you can also add meat, fish or seafood for a non-vegetarian version.
Be creative with your vegetables: Feel free to mix and match vegetables to your liking, you can use carrots, daikon, burdock, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, yams, leek, mushrooms, ginger, etc. Though root vegetables in the recipe are the traditional ingredients, sometimes it’s nice to change things up. Isn’t it?
Serve with garnish: Kenchinjiru is usually served with some garnish, like chopped green onions, grated ginger, or a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Kenchinjiru: the ultimate japanese vegetable soup

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Love root vegetables? As someone who also enjoys them, this could soon be one of your favorite ways to cook them. Thanks to gobo (burdock root) this soups full of flavor, completely filling and perfect as a side or even as your main dish. Make sure to read through the end to get all my tips to make it.

Author: patrick
Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 30
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

Scale

4–5 in. piece of daikon radish, sliced into half moon pieces, 1/4 in. thick
1 1/2 cups gobo, (burdock root) rangiri*
1 tsp fresh ginger, sliced
1 cup carrots, rangiri**
1 Tbsp olive or sesame oil
1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 pieces aburaage, (fried tofu skins, 2 x 6 in. each) sliced
1/2 block konnyaku (3.5 oz), parboiled and torn with a spoon into small pieces
1/2 block tofu (7 oz.), drained and cut into bite size pieces
4 cups dashi
1 Tbsp mirin
2 Tbsps sake
1 1/2 Tbsps soy sauce

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Instructions

Using a large pot, add the oil and cook carrots, daikon, and gobo for 2-3 minutes.
Add in the ginger, shiitake, aburaage, konnyaku, tofu, dashi, mirin, and sake. Cover partially with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the soy sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes partially covered.
Serve with desired toppings as a side or with a bowl of rice for a complete meal!

Notes

*For gobo, scrape off outside skin using back edge of knife to remove excess dirt. If not using immediately, soak cut pieces in a bowl of water to remove bitter flavors and prevent oxidation.

**Rangiri (乱切りrandom cut), is a cutting technique where you rotate a round vegetable ¼ inch at a time and then cut it at an angle. This helps to increase the surface area for better flavor and even cooking. Visit alldayieat.com/go/bookresources for a mini video tutorial on this cutting technique.

Parboiling the konnyaku for 2-3 minutes helps to remove some of the unpleasant flavor and smell along with some of the water inside. Tearing the konnyaku either by hand or with a spoon helps to increase the surface area to allow for the broth flavor to be absorbed better.
For the aburaage, you can reduce some of the oil you eat by parboiling it for 1-2 minutes in water and then draining before using. The trade off is you’ll lose a little bit of flavor from the oil. If you do this, make sure to squeeze out all the water it absorbed before adding it to the soup.
When cooking the konsai (根菜 root vegetables such as daikon radish, carrot and gobo), consider allowing them to brown slightly for extra flavor and umami.

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