How To Make Dashi

Step :

Step 1: You will need:

- 1 litre of water
- 20 grams of dried kelp, or Konbu as it is known in Japan
- 20 grams of smoked dried bonito flakes, which are called Katsuobushi in Japanese. These are dried flakes from the bonito fish, which is a type of tuna
- And a further 50 mls of cold water

You will also need the following utensils;
- A large sauce pan
- A bowl
- And a sieve lined with muslin. If you don't have any muslin you can use a clean, fine tea towel instead.

Step 2: Soak the kelp

Place the kelp in a saucepan in the one litre of water and leave it to soak for at least two hours to properly expand, but for no more than five hours as it will become bitter.

Then put the saucepan on a high heat.

Just before the water reaches boiling point, when it just begins to bubble, use chopsticks or other suitable utensils to remove the kelp. Keep the water boiling for one more minute. Turn the heat off and pour in the 50 millilitres of cold water to cool it quickly

Step 3: Bonito flakes

Add the 20 grams of bonito flakes and leave them to soak for about 15 minutes. By this time all of the flakes will have sunk to the bottom.

Step 4: Time to strain

Put the sieve lined with the muslin cloth over the bowl and strain the Dashi through.

Gather the cloth from each corner and carefully lift to create a pouch containing the bonito flakes. Squeeze the cloth gently to aid the liquid through, but don't press too hard or wring it, just let it drip.