Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga of Nihonbashi Yukari has some great information on basic Japanese culinary skills online. Unfortunately, it is mostly in Japanese. I am translating it into English to share his wealth of knowledge. He is a great teacher and makes learning easy with his key points. I hope this helps others out there who want to learn more about Japanese cuisine. This comes from his post on Lohas.com, a Japanese website.
Dashi 101
Dashi is the basic building block for which many Japanese recipes are based upon. There are many types of dashi, such as a kombu (Japanese kelp) dashi that is strictly vegetarian, excellent for use in delicate dishes, or ago (tobiuo or flying fish) dashi that is more commonly found in the southern island of Kyushu. This dashi from chef Nonaga is the traditional dashi made from water, kombu, and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Sometimes it is referred to as ichiban dashi (the first dashi). Niban dashi (or the second dashi) is a weaker version, made from the leftover kombu and katsuobushi from the first dashi, that is still flavorful enough to be used in some simmered dishes. Nothing goes to waste in the Japanese kitchen. Great care and attention is made to use each item to its fullest.
If you note the color of the dashi in the champagne glass you will see that it has some color to it, both from the kombu and the katsuobushi. Unfortunately you can not smell it or you would smell the minerality of the ocean and the smokiness of the bonito flakes.
1800 ml water
25 grams kombu
20 grams katsuobushi
Chef Nonaga suggests making a big batch of dashi and saving it in a pet bottle in the fridge. It will keep for up to three days.
Rinse the kombu in water. Add to cold water in a pot.
POINT - add the kombu to the water before you turn on the heat.
Turn on the heat to medium low until 60 degrees C (140 degrees F). It will take about ten minutes to get to temperature.
At this temperature the rich flavor of the kombu is released into the water.
The top photo shows water at 60 degrees C (140 degrees F). The bottom photo shows water at 75 degrees C (167 degrees F).
POINT: At 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) the color and umami from the kombu comes out. You will see the color of the water change and if you look carefully you can see tiny bubbles from the cut edge of the kombu releasing its natural umami into the water. Keep the water between 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) and 75 degrees C (167 degrees F).
Let the kombu simmer in the water for about 25 to 30 minutes and then taste the water to confirm you are getting a nice taste of the kombu. Then quickly raise the heat to 90 degrees C (194 degrees F) and remove the kombu. Before it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the katsuobushi.
POINT: At 95 degrees C (203 degrees F) the dashi may lose its aroma and bitterness may come from the katsuobushi. So be careful not to let it get this hot.
The katsuobushi will start to settle to the bottom of the pan. Once it has settled then strain using a cheesecloth.
POINT: You can squeeze the katsuobushi, but at ryotei they do not squeeze the katsuobushi but the flavor is released naturally from gravity as it settles in the water.
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