Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes collected from alt.food.vegan - and beyond!

Basic Japanese Stock (Dashi)

Condiments - Stock - -

INGREDIENTS

5 cups water
14 inch / 35 cm piece good-quality dashi konbu, cut in thirds crosswise and wiped with a damp cloth

METHOD

Place water in large saucepan and add konbu. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, place lid ajar, and simmer until water reduces 25 percent -- until volume is about 3 1/3 cups. Add 1 2/3 cups cold water (enough to bring volume back to original 5 cups).

Simmer for another 20 minutes with lid ajar and again add enough cold water to bring liquid back to original volume.

Simmer for another 10 mmnutes with lid ajar. The stock will be a clear greenish amber. Remove konbu. The volume of stock will be 4 1/6 cups / 1 L / 2.1 pints -- 4 or 5 servings. Keeps 3--4 days refrigerated.

If the konbu expands greatly and develops soft blisters as it simmers, it is of good quality and the dashi will be good.

With larger amounts of konbu and water, the cooking times are longer: for an amount 4 times the one used here, the cooking time is a total of 3 hours.

ALTERNATE METHOD: Start with 8 1/3 cups (2 L / 4.2 pints) of water, add konbu, and simmer until the volume is halved, without adding water during the process.

NOTES

Use good-quality konbu with a flat, thick, wide leaf (about 10 inches / 25 cm wide). Avoid thin, wrinkled konbu unless there is no choice.

Typed directly from the book, again, but this time actually tested by me. It's really nice, smells and tastes of the sea (in a nice way). You can make a quick light soup by heating this and adding a few cubes of tofu.

From "Zen Vegetarian Cooking", by Soei Yoneda and Koei Hoshino,
Serves 4-5.

posted by Kake/Kate L Pugh

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