When it comes to Japanese cooking, Dashi (fish stock) is a must have. It’s frequently used in Japanese cooking as a stock base and provides that umami flavour. Sure you could buy the ready made packets of dashi from your Asian supermarket but home made dashi has a ton more flavour, plus it’s so easy to make, so there’s really no excuse! I use dashi the most for chawanmushi , which is why I typically make a ‘ichiban dashi’ which is the first dashi, using a combination of Kombu and Katsuobushi. You can also make a ‘niban’ (second) dashi, using the leftover ingredients from the first dashi as a base for other Japanese dishes that require a lighter stock base, say miso soup for example. I typically make in huge batches and then freeze them in ice cubes for easy access.

Ichiban Dashi Recipe
Prep time : Minimum 2 hours
Cooking time : 10 min

You’ll need :

• Kombu ( Kelp)
• Katsuobushi ( Bonito flakes)

Prep :

1. Prepare a pot of room temperature water ( filtered if possible).
2. Cut your Kombu into strips (don’t wash your Kombu, if needed wipe gently. The whitish spots on the Kombu are glutamates which provide flavour.
3. Soak the strips of Kombu in water for at least an hour and a half ( I sometimes leave it overnight in the fridge but generally 2 hours is good enough).

Cook:

1. Simmer the pot of water with Kombu inside
2. JUST before the water comes to a boil, remove the Kombu . This is very important as boiling your Kombu will cause your dashi to become bitter
3. Add a handful of Katsuobushi, bring to a rolling boil and take off fire.
4. Sieve out the Katsuobushi, let cool and there you have your dashi! It should be a nice golden colour.
   

*Pro tip – the ratio of Kombu to water is pretty subjective. The more strips of Kombu the more intense the flavour. I generally add 5 cut pieces to around a litre of water but play around with proportions and taste to find out what works for you!

xx Kerri