4 ounces Black mustard seeds
¾ cup Full bodied red wine
¾ cup Red wine vinegar
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Thyme, marjoram, tarragon chopped to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a stainless-steel bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Purée the mixture in a blender until it attains the desired thickness and texture. Store in the refrigerator in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons gochugaru (red pepper powder)
6 scallions, thinly sliced
Combine everything in a small bowl and whisk until combined.
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.
Sauce Suprême
1 Quart Sauce Velouté
1 Quart White Stock (Chicken, Veal, or Fish)
1 Cup of Mushroom Cooking Liquid *
1 Cup of Heavy Cream or Crème Fraîche
3 Ounces Butter
Combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and reduce by 2/3, approximately one quart. Skim off fat during reduction. Finish sauce by stirring in 1 cup of heavy cream and 3 ounces of butter.
Mark Bere Peterson’s Hauntings, Urban Legends, Paganism & Witchcraft 