Chicken And Potato Soup (satsuma-jiru)

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 small chicken breast halves, with skin and bone
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1 -3 small whole new potato, peeled (or sato-imo, japanese country potatoes, if available)
• 2 -3 inches daikon radishes (japanese radish, about 4 ounces, or 2 small turnips)
• 1 small carrot
• 1/2 cake konnyaku (gelatinous cake made from a tuberous vegetable) (optional)
• 3 1/2-4 cups water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sendai miso (dark bean paste)
• 1/2 teaspoon mirin

Recipe

• 1 cut eash chicken breast into 4 pieces and blanch them in boiling water for 30 econds. drain and pour the sake over the chicken and let it stand while preparing the vegetables.
• 2 cut the peeled potatoes obliquely into bite-size pieces. soak in very salty cold water for at least 5 minutes, then rinse under fresh cold water and drain.
• 3 peel the radish and cut into 1/2-inch-thick half moons, or peel the turnips and cut each into quarters. peel the carrot and cut it obliquely into bite-size pieces.
• 4 dice the konnyaku into 12-16 cubes and blanch them for 1 minute in boiling water. drain well.
• 5 in a large pot, combine the chicken through the konnyaku and enough water to cover all generously. bring to a boil and skim the surface frequently for the first five minutes. reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook the soup for 15 minutes. measure out the miso into a separate bowl and ladle some hot soup over it, stirring to dissolve. add the dissolved miso to the soup and continue to cook for 7-8 more minutes, but do not let it boil! just before serving, stir in the mirin.