Japanese Vegetable Soup With Chicken (Kenchin-Jiru)

Submitted by zeldaz51

"From The Japanese Cooking Class Cookbook. Do not confuse Japanese seven spice powder (shichimi togarashi) with Chinese five spice powder, they are totally different critters."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 ounces burdock root (gobo)
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 medium potato, pared
• 4 ounces daikon radishes, pared
• 1 large carrot, pared
• 2 -3 large green onions
• 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 10 ounces tofu
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 ounces ground chicken
• 5 cups dashi
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• shichimi togarashi (seven-spice powder) or sansho, powder

directions

1. Scrape burdock root with the back of a knife to remove all skin. Shave root diagonally into narrow, thin shavings, about 1 inch long. Place shavings in a mixture of 1 cup of cold water and he vinegar. Soak 3-4 minutes; rinse under cold running water and drain.
2. Cut potato lengthwise into quarters; cut quarters crosswise into thin slices. Place in remaining cup of cold water; soak five minutes. Drain.
3. Cut daikon and carrot lengthwise into quarters; cut quarters crosswise into thin slices. Cut green onions crosswise into 1/2 inch lengths. Remove and discard mushroom stems. Cut caps into halves; cut halves crosswise into thin slices.
4. Place tofu in strainer; using fork, break tofu into pieces no larger than 1/2 inch. Rinse and drain.
5. Heat the oils in a 3-quart saucepan over high heat 1 minute; add chicken and saute, stirring constantly, until chicken is cooked, about 3 minutes.
6. Add burdock, potato, daikon, and carrot to chicken. Saute, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add dashi, soy sauce, and salt to chicken mixture. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to medium-high. Boil gently until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes, skimming any foam, if needed.
8. Stir mushrooms and tofu into soup; cook 2 minutes. Stir green onions into soup and remove from heat.
9. Ladle soup into 4 soup bowls and serve immediately. Pass seven spice powder or sansho at table.