Kenchin Jiru Recipe (Traditional Japanese Plant-Based Soup)

Hi everyone, I'm Yuto from Stachi and today I'm going to show you how to make a traditional Japanese plant-based soup called Tenchinjiru. Let's get started. We're going to start by making a vegan dashi with two dry shiitake mushrooms, a couple of pieces of kombu and 500 milliliters of cold water. This dashi will add depth and umami to the soup so cover with a droplet to weigh the mushrooms down and soak for at least 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes the dashi ingredients should be rehydrated so take the shiitake mushrooms out and place them on a chopping board. Trim the stalks off and then thinly slice them. We'll add this to the soup later. Next we're going to heat up the dashi and kombu. Place it on the stove over medium heat and when it's almost bubbling remove the kombu. You can throw it away or if you want to repurpose it check out my kombu onigiri rice filling recipe. Take the pot off the heat and set your dashi aside for later. Next we're going to fry the vegetables off a bit so heat a new pot on medium and add the drizzle of sesame oil. I'm using 75 grams carrot, 250 grams daikon radish, 150 grams konnyaku, 50 grams of shimeji mushrooms, 100 grams of enoki mushrooms, 20 grams of twice fried tofu and 100 grams of burdock root which I peeled and soaked in water beforehand. Just mix those around and fry for a few minutes. Feel free to substitute some of the usual ingredients for local ones. Some great substitutions include other root vegetables like potato, squash and turnip as well as stuff like spinach, most kinds of mushrooms and onions. You can also add tofu if you like. I've really packed this soup with a lot of vegetables but of course you can use less if you prefer. Okay everything has softened a little so now we're going to add the dashi from earlier. Again bring to almost boiling and then reduce the heat to a simmer. We're just going to cook that gently until the carrot and daikon are soft enough to piece with a fork. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking. Oh and don't be like me and forget to add the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms from earlier. Usually I would add these at the same time as the other vegetables but they don't need much cooking so it's okay if you add them a bit late. Okay so this is looking great. Now we're just gonna lightly season the broth with 2 tablespoons of sake, 2 tablespoons of mirin and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Give it a little mix and continue to simmer for about 2 minutes. Finally add thinly sliced Japanese leek and simmer for another 5 minutes or until slightly softened. At this point you can give the soup a taste and add more soy sauce if you like. Once 5 minutes are up take the pot off the heat and serve with a sprinkle of chopped green onion. And there you have it, a delicious traditional Japanese vegetable soup suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Thanks so much for watching. If you want to read more about this dish and its history, check out the written version on my blog. The link is in the description and on the screen now. Thanks again. Hope to see you next time.