Kaeshi (かえし, soy dipping sauce base)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
• •Clean glass jar with lid
• •Fine funnel, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Warm the mirin

   Put the mirin in a small saucepan and bring it just to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Let it bubble quietly for one minute. This takes off the raw alcohol edge, so the finished kaeshi tastes round instead of sharp.

2. 2

   Dissolve the sugar

   Add the sugar and stir until the liquid turns clear again and no grains scrape under the spoon. Sugar needs the mirin's heat to dissolve cleanly; if it sits gritty at the bottom, it will season unevenly later.

3. 3

   Add the shōyu

   Lower the heat and add the shōyu. Warm it until the surface trembles and a few small bubbles gather at the edge, then stop. Don't boil it hard. Boiling drives off the soy's fragrance and leaves the salt standing alone, which is a poor bargain.

4. 4

   Cool and jar

   Take the pan off the heat and let the kaeshi cool uncovered until it is no longer hot. Pour it into a clean jar, cover, and refrigerate. It will taste a little pointed now. That is not failure, only youth.

5. 5

   Rest before using

   Rest the jar at least overnight, and three days is better. Time lets the soy, mirin, and sugar stop tasting like three separate things. To use, dilute with dashi: about 1 part kaeshi to 3 parts dashi for cold soba tsuyu, 1 to 5 or 6 for warm noodle broth, and 1 to 3 for tentsuyu.

Chef Tips

• •Use Japanese koikuchi shōyu. This is not snobbery, just structure: the balance of salt, aroma, and fermented depth is what the kaeshi rests on.
• •Use hon mirin if you can, not sweet cooking seasoning. Hon mirin brings rice sweetness and fragrance; the cheaper bottles bring mostly sugar and salt, and the finished base tastes flatter.
• •Make the dashi separately when you need sauce. Kaeshi keeps well because it is concentrated; once diluted with dashi, it should be treated like fresh stock and used within a few days.
• •For a meatless table, dilute the kaeshi with konbu and dried shiitake dashi. That is temple-kitchen logic, not a compromise.

Advance Preparation

• •Kaeshi should be made at least 1 day ahead. Three days of rest gives a rounder, calmer flavor.
• •Stored covered in the refrigerator, undiluted kaeshi keeps about 1 month.
• •Once mixed with dashi for mentsuyu, soba tsuyu, or tentsuyu, refrigerate and use within 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 18g)