Kombu Dashi Easy

Learning to make a real kombu dashi will open the door to a whole range of dishes from Japanese and South East Asian cuisine.It is a kelp stock which is simple enough to make, and is also called ichiban dashi or ‘first stock’. It’s a fundamental technique in the Japanese culinary tradition, and a great place to start learning about the subject.

Ingredients

For the dashi stock:
900ml water
2 large strips of kombu
2 tablespoons Katsuobushi
Flavourings for the broth:
1 tablespoon of soya sauce
1 tablespoon of brown miso paste
1 tablespoon of creamed coconut

1. Soak the kombu in a pan of water for 15 minutes.
2. Once it has soaked, bring the water up to a gentle boil, and just as it begins to bubble, turn off the heat and add the Katsuobushi
3. Sprinkle them over the surface
4. Roughly five minutes after the flakes go in, the dashi is ready
5. At this point you can strain the liquid through a coffee filter, for a beautiful clear homemade dashi
6. It will last four to five days in the fridge. Longer in the freezer
7. However, we’re turning it into a miso and coconut broth right away, so there’s no need to strain it
8. Just remove the kombu and the largest flakes with a slotted spoon
9. Simply add miso paste with a little soy sauce and creamed coconut, then boil for a few minutes to let the flavours come together and reduce the volume
10. Then it’s ready to serve
11. Serve this broth over soba noodles (with toasted sesame oil), topped with anything from vegetables, meat, fish or tofu