Dashi

Katsudon turned out to be such a hit that I made it again. By that time, I had noticed and bought some kombu (dried kelp) at the Asian grocery, and started looking at dashi recipes. I ended up following Alton Brown's method, which worked very well. As such, I will focus on the ingredients and general usage in this post and simply refer the reader to AB for the nuts and bolts. I roughly halved his recipe.

Kombu sheet and katsuobushi flakes

As it turns out, there are only a two ingredients for dashi: kombu and katsuobushi. My investigations turned up that there are two kinds of kombu: lighter, younger kombu for eating and firm, dark, aged kombu for making dashi. This second kind of kombu is usually labeled as "dashi kombu" and comes in large sheets, whereas the kombu for eating comes in smaller strips.

The other ingredient is katsuobushi, which is dried flakes of smoked skipjack tuna. The skipjack tuna is a popular fish in Japan, often used for sushi. The flakes have a strong aroma that reminds me of smoked salmon. Be aware that katsuobushi is often labeled as "bonito flakes," despite the fact that bonito is a different, though similar fish. 

I was able to find both ingredients in the Japanese section of the Asian grocery store. Actually making the dashi is very simple. You will also need some cheesecloth to strain out the katsuobushi. The end result is a gentle and light broth that can be used for many things, not just katsudon. Dashi also forms the basis for miso soup. I used it to make a quick and delicious noodle soup. I mixed the dashi with a little sriracha, hoisin sauce, chopped green onion, cilantro, and napa cabbage, then poured this over boiled Chinese egg noodles and fishballs. A bit of a cultural mashup, but quite delicious nonetheless.