Kombu Dashi (Dried Kelp Stock)

If you have searched for Japanese cooking recipes, I am pretty sure one of the ingredients that keeps popping up is dashi. You use it to cook miso soup (yes, it is not just mixing miso paste with hot water), certain soups or broths for Japanese noodle dishes, even in certain versions of tamagoyaki (Japanese style omelette).

So what is it? To keep it simple, dashi = stock. In Japanese cuisine, dashi refers to a family of stocks. And the most common main ingredient in it is kombu, or dried kelp. That serves as the base for most of the stocks used in Japanese cooking. On top of that, the next ingredient that is included are katsuobushi, dried fermented and smoked skipjack tuna, commonly know as bonito flakes. Some kombu stocks are vegan and substitutes the katsuobushi using mushrooms.

So why dashi? Again, very simple. Because of umami. Just like your anchovies, fish sauce and bean paste, you get the umami flavors from kombu, bonito flakes and mushrooms. They are many ways of incorporating this stock into your cooking beyond traditional Japanese cuisines. As they are many variations of dashi, what I am showing here is a basic and simple recipe which I learned during my recent trip to Tokyo. With this as a base, let your imagination run wild and experiment with adding different ingredients!

Kombu Dashi (Dried Kelp Stock)

Ingredients:

1. Water 1000ml

2. Kombu (Dried Kelp)* 10g, more if you want a stronger flavor

3. Katsuoboshi (Bonito Flakes)** 5g, more if you want a stronger flavor

*You can get kombu in most Japanese or Korean groceries or specialty stores. They are also available online.

**If you want a Vegan stock, exclude this item. Or replace it with fresh or dried shitake mushrooms.

Method:

1. In a saucepan or pot, bring the water to boil.

2. Turn the heat down so that the water is simmering.

3. Add in the kombu into the simmering water. Break them into smaller pieces if they can't fit into your pot.

4. Turn the heat back up to bring the water to boil.

5. When water is boiling, add in the bonito flakes. Then immediately turn off the heat and bring the pot off the stove.

6. Put a lid over the pot. Let the ingredients steep in the stock for 2 to 3 hours.

7. Pour the liquid over a strainer. (TIP: For a clearer stock, I will place a piece of kitchen towel over my strainer/sieve to act as a "double filter" of sorts).

8. What you have now is a basic kombu dashi.

9. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Or freeze it in ice cube trays to have little stock cubes.

#dashi #kombu #stock #japanesecuisine