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Dashi refers to any of several simple soup stocks considered
fundamental to Japanese cooking. The most common form of dashi is a simple
broth or stock made by heating kelp (konbu) and katsuobushi (flakes of dried
smoked bonito fish) in water and then straining the resultant broth. Dashi
forms the base for miso soup, Japanese noodle broth, and many Japanese
simmering liquids. Fresh dashi made from kelp and katsuobushi is rare today,
even in Japan. Most people use granulated or liquid instant substitutes.
Other kinds of dashi stock are made by soaking kelp, shiitake, or
niboshi in water for many hours or heating them in water nearly to boiling
and then straining the resultant broth. Kelp stock or konbu dashi is made by
soaking kelp, or sea tangle, in water. Shiitake dashi stock is made by
soaking dried shiitake mushrooms in water. Niboshi dashi stock is made by
soaking small dried sardines (after pinching off their heads and entrails)
in water.
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