Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Kenchin Jiru

By Atsuko Ikeda
A bowl of broth with carrots tofu pea shoots and lotus root with a ladle and dishcloth.
Photo by Yuki Sugiura

This kenchin jiru recipe is from my great teacher Mari Fujii, who taught me Shojin Ryori (Buddhist temple cuisine). Like all Shojin Ryori dishes, this soup is vegan. It is a really hearty, comforting dish for a wintry day, but it won’t weigh on your stomach for hours. I find crushing the tofu in by hand at the end so satisfying. 

The story goes that several centuries ago, a young monk dropped a fresh block of tofu onto the kitchen floor. The floor was kept clean, so they added the smashed tofu into the evening soup rather than waste it. This became the same nutritious recipe that you see today.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Atsuko's Japanese Kitchen' by Atsuko Ikeda. Buy the full book on Amazon. Head this way for more tofu recipes→

What you’ll need

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Zaru Soba (Cold Buckwheat Noodles)
Cool off with this easy zaru soba recipe: a Japanese dish of chewy buckwheat noodles served with chilled mentsuyu dipping sauce, daikon, nori, and scallions.
Frijoles de la Olla Ramen (Mexican Stewed Beans)
Traditionally, this Mexican staple is simmered for hours in an olla, or clay pot. You can achieve a similar result by using canned beans and instant ramen.
Beef Stroganoff Ramen
This traditional dish of beef, sour cream, and mustard may have originated in Russia, but it’s about time for a version with ramen noodles, don’t you think?
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Golden Mushroom Soup With Orzo & a Pat of Butter
This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little…unexciting. But you’re underestimating the power of mushrooms, which do the heavy lifting.
Smoky Tofu Shakshuka
This vegan version of the classic North African scramble uses soft silken tofu instead of eggs without any sacrifice of flavor.
Crispy Tofu With Scallion-Ginger Sauce
The tofu is crunchy on the outside, in part thanks to a panko-studded exterior, and squishy-in-a-good-way on the inside. It also comes together in 20 minutes.
Kimchi Gim Bugak (Fried Seaweed Chips)
Bugak is the ideal light beer snack: It’s crunchy, salty, and the fresher it’s made, the better. Thin sheets of kimchi add an extra spicy savory layer.