Kombu Dashi

Makes: About 2 quarts

Time: 15 minutes

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Dashi is the building block of Japanese cuisine, and is often flavored with dried bonito, a tuna-like fish; this variation is just as traditional. I sometimes add ginger to my kombu dashi because it adds a nice secondary flavor, but feel free to omit it. If you have this stock around, I guarantee you’ll use it for all sorts of things.

• 1 piece dried kelp (kombu), 4 to 6 inches long
• 2 or 3 nickel-sized slices fresh ginger (don’t bother to peel)

1. Put the kelp, ginger, and 10 cups water in a saucepan over medium heat. Don’t allow the mixture to come to a boil. As soon as it is about to, turn off the heat and remove the kelp. (You can use it as a vegetable at this point; see page 244 for some ideas).
2. Let the ginger sit in the dashi for a couple of minutes as it cools, then strain the dashi through a fine-meshed strainer. Use the dashi immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

No-Cook Dashi Many Japanese cooks believe this to be a superior version (and it saves you time), but it requires some advance planning: Immerse the dried kelp in 8 cups cold water in a bowl on your way out the door in the morning. It will infuse the water with its flavor in 6 to 8 hours (but can sit for longer if you need). Strain and use as you would cooked dashi.