Inamuduchi
イナムドゥチ·(ee-nah-moo-doo-chee)
Obaa's Pot on the Stove: Slow-Simmered Weekend Comforts
The tub of sweet white miso sits in the fridge door, waiting for Tuesday at six p.m. In Okinawa, "inamuduchi" translates to "imitation wild boar." When the boars retreated, home cooks pivoted to pork, working to capture the wild game's deep, earthy savor. The secret lies in a dual broth of oceanic bonito and rich pork, thickened with a sweet white miso. By boiling the pork belly whole on a lazy Sunday to strip away heavy fat—a meticulous technique called abura-nuki—you're left with a pristine stock and tender meat that can be assembled into a weeknight bowl in fifteen minutes. Add slippery konjac as the broth simmers. Stir the miso in gently, kill the heat, and grab a bowl.
Before you start
Boil the whole block of pork belly in the water for 50 minutes to strip away impurities.
Skim the scum diligently as it rises. Remove the pork to cool, and reserve two cups of the boiling liquid to use as your pristine pork stock.
Rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water.
Soak until soft, about 20 minutes. Squeeze gently, discard the hard stems, and save the earthy soaking liquid.
Cut the cooled pork belly, shiitake caps, konnyaku, atsuage, and kamaboko into uniform rectangular matchsticks.
Okinawan aesthetics demand harmony. Slice everything roughly 1 1/2 inches long and 1/4 inch thick so they fit perfectly onto a soup spoon.
Ingredients
- pork belly block1/2 lb
- water4 cup
- katsuo dashi2 cup
- dried shiitake mushrooms3 med
- konnyaku3 1/2 oz
- atsuage2 oz
- kamaboko2 oz
- shiro miso1/3 cup
- sugar1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Boil the konnyaku and atsuage briefly to purify their flavors.
Drop the konnyaku into a small pot of boiling water for three minutes to remove its earthy odor, then quickly dunk the atsuage for thirty seconds to wash away any stale frying oil. Drain both well.
- 02
Combine the reserved pork stock and katsuo dashi in a large pot and bring to a gentle simmer.
Add the sliced pork belly, shiitake mushrooms, and a splash of the mushroom soaking liquid. Let simmer for 10 minutes to marry the flavors.
- 03
Add the blanched konnyaku and atsuage to the pot.
- 04
Whisk the white miso and sugar with a ladle of hot broth until completely smooth.
Pour this slurry back into the soup and simmer gently for five to ten minutes until the broth thickens slightly and transforms into a velvety, comforting liquid.
- 05
Drop in the kamaboko strips for just one minute before removing from the heat.
If boiled too long, kamaboko loses its delicate texture. Ladle into deep bowls and serve immediately.
Notes
Replicate the sweet Okinawan miso.
Authentic Okinawan white miso is exceptionally sweet and paste-like; blending standard mainland Japanese shiro miso with a tablespoon of sugar perfectly bridges the gap.
Accept the kamaboko substitution.
While Okinawan grandmothers use a bright yellow, egg-based Castella kamaboko for celebrations, standard white or pink kamaboko from your local Asian market is the universally accepted alternative.
From Cook Okinawan in America.