Yafaa Jushi
ヤファラジューシー·(yafaa jūshī)
Asa to Jushi: Grounding Morning Rhythms
While formal restaurants serve a delicate, clear-broth version of this dish, anyone who grew up in an Okinawan household knows it as Boroboro Jushi—a thick, blubbering, life-saving bowl of weeknight comfort. The real grandmother secret here isn't an obscure mountain herb, it's a profound lack of pretense. This is the ultimate vehicle for yesterday's rice, elevated by a rich double-broth and finished exactly how the neighborhood diners do it: with a raw egg and a pat of post-war margarine stirred into the steaming bowl. It cures colds, hangovers, and homesickness alike.
Before you start
Bruise the mugwort if using authentic fuchiba.
If you sourced real mugwort, pull the leaves from the tough stems, place them in a bowl of cold water, and aggressively massage and squeeze them with your hands for about a minute. This washes away the harsh, astringent sap before you chop it. If using spinach, skip this entirely.
Ingredients
- cooked short-grain Japanese white rice3 cup
- unsalted chicken or pork bone broth4 cup
- prepared dashi3 cup
- pork belly or Spam4 oz
- carrot1 small
- dried shiitake mushrooms3 med
- fresh mugwort or baby spinach1 1/2 oz
- awase miso3 tbsp
- eggs4 large
- butter or margarine4 tsp
- scallions2 med
Method
- 01
Build the double broth.
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine the bone broth, dashi, pork or Spam, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms. Bring to a vigorous boil over medium-high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the surface to keep the flavor clean.
- 02
Simmer the rice without stirring.
Add the rinsed, cooked rice and stir gently just once to distribute the ingredients. Drop the heat to low, partially cover the pot, and let it bubble away for about 15 minutes. Resist the urge to stir; treating this like risotto will shear the starches and turn your beautiful broth into glue.
- 03
Dissolve the miso.
Remove the lid from the thickened, soupy porridge. Place the miso in a small ladle, lower it into the hot broth, and use chopsticks to whisk it inside the ladle until smoothly dissolved. Taste and adjust with a pinch of salt if your store-bought broth was unsalted.
- 04
Wilt the greens.
Stir in the chopped mugwort or spinach, cooking for just a minute or two until completely wilted. Kill the heat.
- 05
Serve with the diner finish.
Ladle the steaming porridge into deep bowls. Immediately crack a raw egg into the center of each, drop a teaspoon of butter right next to it, and scatter generously with scallions. Stir the melting butter and egg into the porridge right before the first bite.
From Cook Okinawan in America.