Recipe: Dashi stock

I love the texture of ramen noodles, but the MSG overload flavour packs that often accompany the store-bought variety just make the meal seem trashy.  If I'm not going the distance and making the noodles, I'll go out and get a decent brand of dried ones (the kind that don't come with flavour packs) that leaves me to focus on the broth and all the tasty goodies going into it.  A great deal of the final flavour will come from what goes into the broth, but like any soup, the credibility lies in the foundation, the stock.  Dashi often plays such a role, not only in soups, but many Japanese dishes, so it helps to know how to make it.  Once you are comfortable with it, host a shabu-shabu party and pay attention to how the flavour of the broth develops during the meal - but you still need to have that stock to start it off.

You will need:

1L / 1qt            cold water

20cm / 8in        kombu (dried kelp)

500ml / 2C       bonito flakes (dried and smoked skipjack tuna)

Method:

 - rinse the kombu under cold water until it is rehydrated and very soft

 - put it in a pot with the water and slowly bring to a simmer

 - once at the simmer, turn off the heat, discard the kombu, and add the bonito

 - cover well with saran wrap and let steep 10 minutes

 - strain through a fine mesh sieve and use as needed