1 sheet of kombu
1 quart  water
1/2 cup  bonito flakes
1 package of udon noodles (for udon instead of plain dashi)

…and that’s it. Kombu is a dried sea weed, and if that term makes you queasy,  just call it a sea vegetable, and if vegetable turns you off…please hit the back button on your browser LOL kidding.. Anyway, konbu is rich in calcium, and has a ton of helpful amino acids as well as other good properties. Bonito is a form of preserved tuna, and it’s packed with nutrition. Both items are available in specialty grocery stores, or online

Place the kombu and water in a saucepan, and allow it to soak for 30 minutes to become soft. Remove the kombu from the water, and cut several lengthwise slits into the leaf. Return the kombu to the water, and bring it to a boil. As soon as the water begins to boil, remove the kombu. Now, I don’t think we ever saw Ryou make this stock, but she had to have it on hand. You’ve probably seen characters in other anime make it. If it looks like someone is trying to boil what looks like a piece of leather….then that’s kombu, and they are making this stock.

Stir the bonito flakes into the water, bring back to a boil, and take the pan off the heat. Allow the water to cool. When the bonito flakes have settled to the bottom, strain the dashi through a strainer lined with filter. I usually use a large coffee filter.

And, again, that it. This should make 8 cups of soup stock, which you can store and use whenever you please. For this recipe it’s going to form a basis for the udon noodle soup.

At this point, I’m going to use a vegetable stock for the udon as that is what I have on hand.  You can dilute that to suit your tastes, and add it into the dashi mix.

For the udon noodles, simply follow the directions on the package. You might want to discard any flavor pack that could come with the noodles, as you wont need it since you got the stock now, right?

Now this is a great start, and the soup is so versatile you can add nearly anything to it. Tempura shrimp? Yes. Roasted pork? You bet, that’s what I’m going for. Grated daikon? Well, I wasn’t able to get any recently, so I’ll just use spring onions as it gives it a nice taste. A dash or two of soy sauce will give the soup an added richness.

Sadly I was not able to go out and get more kombu and bonito flakes. But, not so sadly, I still have stock on hand. Sadly, this is the last of it for awhile.

Some new veggie stock, and a plate of roasted and pulled pork. This is rather plain, but once the meat soaks up some soup stock, the sweetness of the pork and the umami of the stock tastes great together.

Not pictured: My foodgasm face. Some things you’ll just have to imagine.

1 1/2 cups Japanese white rice
*1 package of bamboo shoots OR 3-4 fresh bamboo shoots
3-4 tablespoons cooking mirin
pinch of salt
2 green onions (diced)

*the packaged shoots taste a bit like preservatives if you don’t wash them enough, but are cheaper, easier to find, and already have most of the cyanide removed. The shoots however taste much, much better. I used packaged shoots for this dish but also tried out the actual shoots by themselves the next day and I really wish I had went with the real thing. The taste doesn’t even compare!

1. Soak the rice in ~4 cups of water for 15 minutes. Reserve this starchy water in another pot, because you’ll use it to boil the bamboo.

2. Cook the rice in 3 cups of water in either a pot or a rice cooker (I used a rice cooker)

3.  If using the whole bamboo shoots, remove the outer layers by hand until there are no dark brown spots. Cut off the root/bottom of the shoot as well. Chop the remaining, pale shoot into small pieces. For packaged shoots, just wash them thoroughly before chopping them into small pieces. Packaged bamboo has a cool pattern if you cut it lengthwise first and cut it into large chunks, so I kept mine a bit chunkier. It’s all up to you!

4. While the rice cooks, boil the bamboo in the reserved starchy rice water for 15 minutes, adding more (regular) water if it’s needed to cover all of the bamboo. When the bamboo is ready, drain the water out of the pot and put it in a strainer.

5. Once the rice is cooked, mix it with a pinch of salt, cooking mirin, and the bamboo. More mirin can be added if you want it to be sweeter.

6. For garnish, chop up green onions and sprinkle them on top

7. Serve as a side dish or a main course if you’re cheap like me =w=

The packaged shoots are more yellow and taste more processed, but man…they look cool. Plus, all this (and more) was only $2!

LEGIT BAMBOO FRESH OUTTA CHINA TOWN! The internet scared me a bit with the poison thing, but my friends said their parents never even knew about that and they cook bamboo all the time without a care in the world.

Tags: Cooking, food porn, Koufuku Graffiti, otaku cafe

About Tag Team