Category: Culinary

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.

• 11/4 ounces dried small sardines (niboshi)
• 5 cups) cold water or Traditional Fish Based Dashi
• 1/8 ounce konbu (if using water)

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.