Dashi stock

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 10 cm piece kombu (see Note), rinsed
• 10 g (½ cup) dried bonito flakes (see Note)

Makes 2.2 litres

Standing time 15 minutes

Instructions

Place 2 litres water and kombu in a stockpot and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat just before the water boils. Set aside for 10 minutes or until kombu is tender. Discard kombu.

Add 250 ml water and the dried bonito flakes and set aside for 5 minutes. Strain, discarding solids.

The stock will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Use dashi stock in Kenji Ito's crab and mitsuba salad, or his chicken and burdock rice with sour plums and dashi broth (tori gobo meshi ume chazuke), and his slow-cooked pork belly with soy-simmered vegetables (buta no kakuni natsu yasai nimono).

Note
• Kombu is dried kelp. Both this and the bonito flakes are available from Asian food shops.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.