How To Make Dashi

How to make dashi and ramen soup with soy sauce eggs is the last post from this Stocks and Broths series. I wanted to end with something that was completely new for me, something that I have never cooked or eaten before. I’ve heard of dashi many times before but never got the chance to eat it anywhere or cook it myself. Japanese restaurants are not something you would find in rural Germany, the only good sushi I get to eat is when traveling to a larger city, like Munich or Cologne. And to be able to buy Japanese ingredients to make the dashi myself, well, for that I would have to drive about 60 km to Kassel or order the stuff online. Which is not something you do on a whim, especially since you have no idea if you would like the results anyway and since Japanese ingredients are not exactly cheap around here. But what doesn’t one do for the blog,

So I wanted to make something completely new for me and, when it came to stocks or broths, I really couldn’t find anything less known to me than dashi. I mean, kombu and bonito flakes, I had to google to find out what they were. Dashi is the Japanese stock resulting when cooking kombu, which is edible kelp or seaweeds and katsuobushi or bonito flakes, which are preserved, fermented tuna flakes. Sounds “delicious”, isn’t it, especially for someone like me, who never put a toe outside Europe or inside a Japanese restaurant. But I am pretty brave when it comes to food and cooking. Dashi is the basic stock used in Japanese cooking, the base for a large variety of Japanese soups, including miso soup or udon noodle soup. And what else can I say at the end of these two weeks full of stocks and broths. Firstly that we ate a lot, and I mean really huge amounts of soup.

We loved each of them (the kids refused to try the fish soup, but ate happily all the rest). I very much hope that you’ve enjoyed these recipes and that you’ve found something of use for you here during these past two weeks. To make the dashi clean the kombu using a damp cloth to wipe the seaweeds without removing the white powdery coating. Place in a pot and cover with the water. Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes and up to half day. Turn on the heat and almost bring to a boil. Take it off the heat just before it actually starts to boil and remove the kombu. Save it for the second dashi. Let the liquid stand for about 5 minutes then add the dried bonito flakes. Bring to a boil again, skimming occasionally and simmer for just 30 seconds when it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and leave it for about 10 minutes until the bonito flakes sink to the bottom. Line a sieve with paper towel and strain the liquid. Squeeze the paper towel to release all the liquid.



Keep the bonito flakes for the second dashi. The dashi will keep for 3 to 7 days in the fridge and for about 3 weeks when frozen. To make the second dashi (optional) place the cooked kombu and bonito flakes in a pot, cover with 1 liter/ 4 cups water, bring to a boil and cook gently for 10 minutes. Leave it until the bonito flakes sink to the bottom of the pot and strain as shown before. To make the soy sauce eggs, whisk together the warm water, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce in a bowl large enough to hold the 6 eggs. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the eggs for 6 minutes and 50 seconds. In the meantime fill a bowl with ice cubes and cold water and place the eggs inside as soon as they are cooked. Leave for a few minutes, then peel. Place the eggs in the marinade and marinate for 2 to 6 hours.