11/4 ounces konbu
5 cups cold water
pinch of sea salt
Gently wipe the konbu with a damp cloth. Add the konbu and water to a pan, cover with a lid and let it stand for 8 hours or preferably overnight. The longer the soaking time, the more flavoursome your stock will be. At the end of the soaking time, remove the konbu from the water, add a pinch of salt and mix well. The konbu dashi is ready to be used.
The dashi will keep in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
8 cups cold water
14 ounces of vegetable offcuts and peelings from 4 different kinds of vegetables such as carrots, daikon, Chinese cabbage, pumpkin, turnip, etc.
2 slices of root ginger
3/4 ounces of konbu
Place all the ingredients in a pan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then simmer until reduced by half.
Strain through a fine sieve and use as needed.
The dashi will keep in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
11/4 ounces konbu
5 cups cold water
2 cups dried bonito fish flakes
Gently wipe the konbu with a damp cloth. Fill a pan with the water, add the konbu and leave it to stand, covered, for 6–8 hours. Remove the lid and, on a low heat, bring the water to a near boil.
Remove the konbu just before the water boils as it will give off a strong smell and bitter flavour if boiled at this point.
Bring the stock to a full boil then immediately add the dried bonito flakes, remove the pan from the heat. Do not stir and allow the flakes to settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes, skim any foam from the surface. Pass the dashi through a muslin-lined sieve without pressing it.
The dashi will keep in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
One 3 x 6 inch piece of konbu
8 cups of water
2 handfuls of katsuo-bushi
Rinse the konbu. Combine it with water in a saucepan. Bring water to a simmer. Turn off stove. Steep for 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Add the katsuo-bushi. Cover and let steep for 7 minutes.
Strain the dashi through cheesecloth.
5 cups Vegetarian Konbu Dashi Stock
11/4 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon caster sugar
pinch of sea salt
Add Vegetarian Konbu Dashi Stock to a pan until hot but not boiling, then remove from the heat.
Add the shiitake mushrooms, sugar and salt to the hot konbu dashi and let them soak for 2–4 hours. Remove the mushrooms, reserving them for another recipe.
Strain the dashi into a bowl avoiding any sediment or grit from the bottom of the pan.
The dashi will keep in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
This Dashi is a much stronger flavored version than the bonito and konbu dashi. Excellent for Miso Soup and Ramen.
Pluck off and discard the fish heads, open up the fish stomachs and remove and discard the insides. Place the prepared fish in a pan with the measured water and konbu, or with the Traditional Fish Based Dashi, and leave to soak for one hour.
Bring the water quickly to a boil, skim off any scum that rises to the surface and simmer very gently for 6–10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and pass through a very fine muslin-lined sieve.
The dashi will keep in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Meat dashi’s are pretty rare in Japanese Cuisine. In the United States chef David Chang has made his bacon dashi infamous in culinary circles.
This Dashi can be made more luxurious by replacing the chicken bones with duck bones.
3 pounds 5 ounces chicken bones
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
2 scallions, white part only
3 1/2 ounces carrots
1 3/4 ounces of ginger
1 cup sake
14 3/4 cups cold water
Remove any bits of fat from the chicken bones. Rub the salt into the bones and set aside for 1 hour to allow salt to penetrate.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the bones in a roasting pan and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the scallion stalks in half and carefully char them over a gas flame on the stove or under the broiler. Wash and roughly slice the unpeeled carrots and ginger.
Transfer the hot roasted bones to a large stockpot and add the rest of the ingredients. Quickly bring to a boil, then simmer until the stock is reduced by half, skim off any scum that rises to the surface.
Remove the bones from the pot, and pass the stock through a fine sieve.
The dashi will keep in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
8 large eggs, at room temperature (farm fresh if possible)
¾ cup soy sauce
Fill a medium-sized saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil. Add the eggs gently into the boiling water. Boil for 6 to 8 minutes depending upon desired firmness of yolk. Set a large bowl in the kitchen sink and fill with cold water. Scoop the eggs from the boiling water and immediately plunge into the water.
Run more cold water if the water temperature feels warm. When the eggs are cool, gently crack by rapping and rolling . Return the eggs back to the cold water for a few more minutes, then peel.
Lay the peeled eggs on a dry dish towel. Pat dry, and then place the eggs in a freezer-style gallon resealable plastic bag. Pour in the soy sauce, tip the bag to distribute, press out all the air, and roll up any unused portion of bag to create a tight cylinder.
Refrigerate overnight. Serve before dinner with drinks, as a side dish for a barbecue or picnic or in Ramen.
Best the first day.
6 medium eggs
1 pound miso
Fill a medium-sized saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil. Add the eggs gently into the boiling water. Boil for 6 to 8 minutes depending upon desired firmness of yolk. Set a large bowl in the kitchen sink and fill with cold water. Scoop the eggs from the boiling water and immediately plunge into the water.
Run more cold water if the water temperature feels warm. When the eggs are cool, gently crack by rapping and rolling . Return the eggs back to the cold water for a few more minutes, then peel.
Pat out about 2½ ounces of miso in your palm. Place 1 peeled egg on the miso and smooth the miso around to cover the whole surface of the egg. Nestle the eggs in a resealable plastic bag or storage container and refrigerate for 4 hours. After 4 hours, regardless if you are ready to serve or not, remove the miso from the eggs.
Repack the miso into a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for subsequent eggs. Store the eggs in the fridge until ready to serve. Cut in half lengthwise with a very sharp knife wiping the knife each time between cuts to keep the inside free of miso.
Sanbaisuis is the basis for making a pickle called sanbaizuke, though it also becomes the dipping sauce for tempura.
⅔ cup Katsuobushi Dashi
⅔ cup good soy sauce
⅔ cup brown rice vinegar
Mix the dashi, soy sauce, and brown rice vinegar together and pour into a jar. Keeps for a couple of months, refrigerated. Good for making an instant pickle or on a vegetable salad with equal parts oil.
Mark Bere Peterson’s Hauntings, Urban Legends, Paganism & Witchcraft 