Dashi Stock

DASHI STOCK is Japanese clear soup stock. There are four types made from kelp, dried bonito, shitake mushroom, or dried fish. Dashi stock is the secret of Japanese cooking. To keep this strictly vegetarian, I omit the dried bonito flakes and substitute with soy bean sprouts and or mushrooms. It seems to work out fine. (I found this recipe for Dashi in the March/April '94 edition of the EATING WELL magazine, which also has some great recipes for using Japanese noodles) It's exactly how I make mine, except I substitute one cup of bean sprouts or several Shitake mushrooms for 1 cup of Bonito Flakes.

1 oz. dried Kombu (10 inches) (Dried Kelp)

1 cup soy bean sprouts

Lightly brush kombu clean without removing its coating of white dust. Place in a large saucepan with 6 cups of cold water. Slowly bring to a simmer over low heat and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the kombu and discard it. Add 1 cup cold water and the sprouts to the broth. Return to simmer for 5 minutes. Increase heat to high. Once the stock boils, remove from the heat. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, discarding the sprouts. Stock may be stored in refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 6 months. Makes 5 cups.