No. I am not taking “samples” for the hospital lab. I have done enough of that this year UGH.
Hey, all! It’s SwampWitch. I’m back from a busy summer, one that I had totally cleared out for all of my side hustles (ah, the mark of a true Millennial). But then life happened: we were hosting a friend during their rotations, so I wasn’t about to go all Soma Yukihira on them:
…and then the delightful “Chronic Illness that Has No Impact on My Life But Makes Doctors Nervous” reared it’s head again, so it was back to the clinic for blood tests, consults, MRIs, etc. Seriously, I’m fine. Totally asymptomatic. It just means that I have to get frequent screenings to make sure I’m still ok, which can be very draining after a while.
So when I’m recovering from another MRI (those things are the worst!), I crave something warm and comforting, but not too heavy. Miso soup does the trick and it’s dead simple to make, as long as you have some…
DASHI! It’s a Japanese soup broth used to flavor tons of dishes. The idea is to simmer one or more umami-rich ingredients until you get this super smoky, rich, glutamate-y liquid. People use different combinations of kombu (seaweed or kelp), sardines, katsuobushi flakes (fermented and dried skipjack tuna/bonito), shiitake mushrooms, or… Hondashi granules and water to create the stock, depending on dietary preferences or needs.
(See that stuff? Dissolve it in water. That’s the end of the recipe. See ya later.)
Let me note that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH HONDASHI AND IT WILL NOT HURT YOU. MSG POISONING IS A MYTH. Seriously. Watch the first season of “The Mind of a Chef” and Harold McGee will set you right about monosodium glutamate. It can’t be any more hazardous/delicious than David Chang’s pork bushi!
Ok. Enough David Chang fangirling (I just wanna hang out with him so baaaddd…)
How do I make dashi? Since I always have katsuobushi hanging around for other recipes, I make it the “old-fashioned” way, which is still really quick and simple. Let’s round up our ingredients:
Wow. That was easy. Assuming you have running water, you’ll need two ingredients:
- Katsuobushi flakes
- Kombu
End of list. Pretty easy, right? Guess what? I’m going to make it even easier by posting an Amazon shopping list at the end of the post! Aren’t I so helpful?
You’ll also need a saucepan to soak and simmer in. From there, you get to “choose your own adventure” when it comes to filtering and storage. Let me show you the lazy (read; can’t lift a pan with one hand) way I do it, then the more “authentic” way for those with strong forearms.
Step 1: Cut a few slices into the sides of a piece of kombu and soak it in your saucepan. Wait. Grab an adult beverage.
Wait some more. I usually let it soak for a few hours.
Don’t do what I do and forget about it all evening, realize you don’t have enough time to finish the project and freeze the pot until the morning. With the kombu still in the pot, turn on the heat to high. Wait until the water thaws little bubbles start to form around the kombu, then take the kombu out – boiling the kombu too long will make it, and the resultant soup, slimy.
Note: I have never tasted any off flavors from my “freeze distilled” kombu dashi, but I still wouldn’t recommend it. It makes you look flaky.
See how golden it is already, just from the kombu? You could stop here if you’d like or use shiitake mushrooms in the next step to make a vegan dashi. This is a super flexible broth. You do you, boo.
(Gosh, you can tell how late it was when I was taking pictures. Dark and grainy, ugh. Get good, noob!)
Take your second flavoring of choice, in this case, katsuobushi, and chuck it in the broth. I fill a strainer with a few handfuls of fish flake, then lower the strainer into the simmering water. This is totally optional and you may get a better result by just letting the flakes float in the broth naturally, but I have a very hard time straining the broth after the boil, so this works for me. It also makes clean-up a breeze, particularly if you want to save the spent flakes for seasoning or cat treats.
Turn off your burner, shoo the cats out of the kitchen and walk away for about 20 minutes. You’re making super concentrated fish tea, so you’ll need to let it steep for a bit. Wait until the flakes sink to the bottom of the pot or strainer, then remove the solids.
What you should be left with is a hazy, golden liquid that smells like a fish market. It is delicious.
But what if you’re ambitious and want a clearer broth? Lucky for you, Permanent Roomate decided to help me and my weak little dinosaur wrists with the next few photos!
When the flakes have settled, grab the saucepan and pour the liquid through a mesh strainer, lined with a coffee filter.
You’ll have to go in short bursts and probably squeeze the filter out once or twice, but in the end, you’ll have a much cleaner product. 
…Which you then freeze in a blue ice cube tray, obscuring all your hard work. *Le sigh* It lasts in the refrigerator for a couple of days and stays tasty frozen for a few weeks. I use cubes to portion my stock – one cube for flavoring, five or six cubes for soups. Stir in a tablespoon of this delicious stuff:
…and you’ve got a great miso soup base. BTW, South River Miso is incredible stuff and a great local company. Buy lots!
You can find the katsuobushi and kombu on my Amazon Shopping List below. Now go, buy, and EAT THE FOOD!