Japanese Dashi Bonito Fish Stock Food

JAPANESE DASHI (BONITO FISH STOCK)

Steps:

• Wipe konbu once with damp cloth and cut into strips.
• Do not wipe off white residue as it dries.
• Bring konbu strips and water to a boil over medium heat; remove konbu.
• Add 1/4-1/2 cup ice water to stock to stop boiling.
• Add bonito flakes and return to boil; then remove from heat.
• When bonito flakes have all sunk from top, strain stock through cheesecloth or coffee filter placed over sieve into another pot.
• Use as directed in recipes.
• Freeze excess for later use, if desired.

JAPANESE DASHI [BONITO FISH STOCK]

Steps:

• Wipe kelp [10 cm square] gently with a damp cloth to remove any sand [but not the white powder] that may adhere to the surface.
• Using scissors, cut kelp crosswise into 4 equal strips.
• Place kelp and 1 quart water in a 2-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat; Just Before the water boils, remove and discard the kelp.
• Add 1/3 c cold water to pan to stop the boiling. Immediately add bonito flakes to the pan.
• When stock reaches full boiling, remove from the heat immediately.
• Allow bonito flakes to settle to the bottom of the pan (this takes about 1 minute). Strain stock through a cheesecloth-lined sieve
• Discard bonita flakes.
• NOTE: products are available to make "instant" dashi -- known generally as "dashi-nomoto" or "hon-dashi". Both simply require just the addition of boiling water and both produce a very satisfactory substitute for freshly made dashi.

DASHI (JAPANESE STOCK)

Steps:

• Put the water into the pot.
• Dampen a cloth or paper towel, wring it out, and use it to gently pat the surface of the piece of kelp- do not wipe it hard, just remove surface dust; some of the white powder clinging to it is clean pleasant flavor from the ocean.
• Put the kelp into the pot.
• Heat the water, and when you can tell it is about to boil, but before it does, remove the kelp.
• Add the bonito flakes and let the water come to a full boil.
• As soon as the water starts to boil, turn off the heat.
• Let the bonito flakes start to settle to the bottom of the saucepan.
• You can strain the soup as soon as the flakes start to settle- 30 seconds to 1 minute, or, for a stronger flavor (which you may or may not want depending on what you are making) you can leave them in a few minutes longer- some of the recipes I have seem to imply that the flakes will all settle within a few minutes, but perhaps that depends on the kind you have; mine never all settle, and I find that a soak longer than a few minutes does not improve the flavor much anyway.
• To strain: line a strainer with a piece of cheesecloth (optional, but neater), and filter the dashi through it.
• You now have ichiban dashi.
• This dashi will keep for a few days in a glass container in the refrigerator.
• You can also make secondary dashi (niban dashi) by re-using the kelp and bonito flakes once; I haven't practiced that yet.