Clear Soup (すまし汁, Sumashijiru)

A clear soup has no curtain. You see the bottom of the bowl, and then you taste whether the cook was paying attention. This is why people make sumashijiru sound delicate and severe. It isn't difficult. It only refuses to be rescued at the end.

The first secret is ichiban dashi, the first stock drawn from konbu and katsuobushi. Bring the kelp up slowly and remove it before the water boils, because boiling pulls bitterness and a slick mouthfeel from it. Add the bonito flakes off the heat, let them sink, then strain without squeezing. The soup stays clear because you protected it twice.

After that, season lightly. A little usukuchi shōyu, a little salt, perhaps a spoon of sake, and stop. The bowl should taste clean, deep, and almost bare. Put in one or two things at their prime: a cube of tofu, a shiitake cap, a curl of yuzu peel, a sprig of mitsuba. In a Japanese meal, this soup is not decoration. It is the quiet space that lets the rice, grilled fish, and simmered dishes speak in turn. Leave it room.