Dashi Broth, Soup and Custard

Dashi Broth

Ingredients

8 cups of water

2 strips of Kombu

1 cup of bonito flakes

1 tbsp of tamari or soy sauce

Kombu broth is super simple and oh so subtle!

Combine water and kombu in a large pot. Heat over medium-high until water begins to steam and small bubbles form around the kombu. Do not boil. This should take about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bonito flakes. Let this steep for 30 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine wire strainer into a bowl. Discard solids, Stir in tamari and keep broth warm.

Mushroom Bok Choy Dashi Soup

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. ghee

4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 head of bok choy (about 1 ½ lbs.), 

6 cups of broth (from recipe above)

10 snow peas, blanched 

4 green onions, sliced thinly on a diagonal

Dill, to garnish

Tamari, to garnish

Chili oil (optional)

Instructions

With a tablespoon of ghee, heat a skillet and slowly saute the mushrooms for about 10 minutes until very soft.

Add the bok choy and the snow peas and cook until both are cooked lightly, about 3 minutes.

Place ¼ cup of bok choy, mushrooms, and peas in each bowl and pour 1 ½ cups of hot kombu broth into each bowl. Garnish with fresh dill and green onions, and serve with tamari and, if desired, chili oil. 

Japanese Custard (Chawan-mushi)

The egg mixture making chawan-mushi only requires 4 ingredients – eggs, dashi stock, soy sauce, and mirin. 

You can experiment with the ratio of eggs to stock but for a start, use 4 eggs to 2½ cups stock. More stock will make it softer and thinner, and less will make it more firm. It is your preference.

Ingredients

4 large eggs

1 Tbsp. tamari 

1 Tbsp. mirin

2½ cups dashi stock (or light chicken stock)

2 shiitake mushrooms cooked well

3 slices carrot - blanched

2 wild shrimp, blanched and cut in half lengthwise

Sliced green onions, cilantro, snow peas

Directions

Mix the eggs with a whisk. Do not beat them - just a soft mixing. If you aerate the eggs too much the custard will be rubbery.

 Place 2½ cups of dashi in a bowl. Add the mirin and tamari to the dashi and using a strainer, strain the egg mixture over the dashi into the bowl. (Strain the eggs in order to achieve a silky soft texture when it is steamed.) This one extra step makes it super silky and porous. So when you add the eggs to the dashi stock, try not to over mix.

 Divide the mixture into 3 tea cups (or mugs or ramekins). Pour water about 1½ inches high in a pot about 8 inches in diameter or just large enough to hold the cups and bring it to boil over high heat.

 Once the water boils, place cups in the pot and turn down to low heat. Steam with gentle heat. Most importantly, steam GENTLY. If the steam is too strong it will make a porous and spongy egg custard. 

Keep a temperature of 158-176°F which will coagulate the egg inside the steamer.

Wrap the lid with a tea towel, so that water does not drip over the custard.

 Put lid on and steam about 5 to 7 minutes.

 When the egg mixture is nearly set, top with shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, carrot, or other enhancements and steam for another 3 to 5 minutes.

 Turn the heat off and leave the cups in the pot for 5 minutes to further set.