Kasujiru (Kasujiru)
Overview
Kasujiru is a warming Japanese winter soup made with sake kasu, the soft, white lees left over from brewing sake. Daikon, carrot, burdock, konnyaku and fried tofu are simmered in dashi, often with pieces of salted salmon or thin slices of pork. A paste of sake lees softened in a little broth is stirred in, usually with some white miso. The soup turns milky and pale and has a rich, gently sweet and slightly boozy taste, though most of the alcohol cooks off. It is finished with spring onion and sometimes shichimi chilli pepper.
History
Sake has been brewed in Japan for well over a thousand years, and the leftover lees have long been used in pickles, marinades and soups. Kasujiru is especially popular in the brewing regions of Kansai, such as Nada in Kobe and Fushimi in Kyoto, and in northern and western Japan, where it is eaten on cold days. Brewers often sell fresh lees in winter, when new sake is pressed.
Main ingredients
Sake lees, dashi, daikon and carrot, salted salmon, miso, konnyaku and aburaage. The soup is built on dashi with sake lees and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · More soups from Japan
Recipe
Method
- 1
Soften the sake lees in a ladle of warm dashi and mash to a paste.
- 210 min
Simmer the vegetables, konnyaku and aburaage in the dashi for 10 minutes.
- 35 min
Add the salmon and cook for 5 minutes.
- 4
Stir in the sake lees paste and miso and heat without boiling.
- 5
Serve with spring onion.
- ✓
Serve. About 40 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
