What we dont talk about often is the umami-rich broth known as dashi, a staple in Japanese cuisine.
What is Dashi?
If youve dined at a Japanese restaurant, youve most likely had dashi in one of your favorite dishes.
Its a broth made of seaweed, specificallykombu, and driedbonito flakes.
While dashi is great in pescatarian and vegetarian dishes, it has uses beyond those.
Its also delicious at room-temperature (or below), making it the perfect base for summery soups.
There are a few varieties of dashi that call for variations on kombu and bonito flakes.
Some call for sardines or anchovies, and there are versions made with shitake mushrooms.
While the bonito makes traditional awase dashi (bonito and kombu) pescatarian, you might finevegan versionsas well.
Treat it like a tea bag, steeping it in hot water to create a flavorful dashi.
How to make awase dashi (and furikake)
Personally, I prefer to make my dashi.
Cut the kombu, not all the way through but just to give it 2-3 slits.
This will help release the flavor.
Quickly reduce to a simmer, and allow it to do so for 10 minutes.
Remove the kombu and place it aside.
Turn off the heat, but leave the pot where it is.
Now pour the broth through a strainer, over a bowl.
The broth in the bowl is your finished dashi.
To make furikake, take the filtered bonito flakes and kombu and place them on a cutting board.
Chop them up finely, and allow them to dry out.
Its great on rice, or in the dish below.
I can have it at least once a week and never tire or it.
It is easy to make and incredibly satisfying.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add your soba noodles and simmer for five minutes.
Drain and immediately rinse them with cold water.
Meanwhile, add your dashi to a bowl.
Slice all the pickles you intend to use, and chop the scallions.
Take this time to soft boil your egg if you intend to use one.
Add the soba noodles to your dashi bowl and layer your pickles.
If you boiled an egg, crack it open and place it on top of the pickles.
Finally, garnish with the scallions, ginger and radish.
you’re able to also add furikake if you have some.
Enjoy with a soup spoon and chopsticks.
