Shōjin Dashi (精進だし, temple kitchen meatless stock)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium pot
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth or paper towel
• •Storage jar with a tight lid

Instructions

1. 1

   Wipe the konbu

   Wipe the konbu lightly with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. The pale powder on the surface is not dirt, it is flavor, and rinsing it away is a very efficient way to make poorer stock. Trim nothing unless the piece will not fit your pot.

2. 2

   Soak overnight

   Put the konbu, dried shiitake, and optional kanpyō in the cold water. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight. The shiitake should swell and soften, and the water should take on a pale amber color. Cold soaking draws flavor gently, which keeps the stock clear and clean.

   If you are short on time, soak for 1 hour at room temperature, then warm the pot slowly. It will work, but the overnight soak gives a rounder dashi.
3. 3

   Warm slowly

   Set the pot over low heat and bring it up slowly, about 15 minutes. Watch the sides of the pot. When small bubbles begin to climb and the water trembles, lift out the konbu. Do this before a boil, because boiled konbu can turn bitter and a little slippery.

4. 4

   Simmer the shiitake

   Let the shiitake and kanpyō stay in the barely simmering water for 5 to 8 minutes more. Keep the heat gentle, with only small bubbles breaking now and then. The mushrooms are denser than the kelp, and this short simmer gives them time to finish releasing their flavor without clouding the stock.

5. 5

   Strain cleanly

   Strain the dashi through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth or paper towel. Let it drip on its own. Don't press the mushrooms hard, or you force out muddy, harsh flavors along with the last drops. Save the softened shiitake for simmered dishes or rice.

6. 6

   Use or store

   Use the dashi plain, or season it according to the dish with soy sauce, miso, salt, mirin, or sake. Left unseasoned, it can become many things. Cool it quickly, then refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for 1 month.

Chef Tips

• •Choose konbu with a broad, thick sheet and a dry mineral smell. If it smells musty, leave it. Dried ingredients still have shun of a kind: they should smell clean and alive when they meet water.
• •Use dried shiitake with whole caps and a good fragrance. Donko, the thick winter-grade shiitake, gives a deeper stock, but ordinary dried shiitake will do honest work if it smells good.
• •Don't season the whole batch unless you know its purpose. Unseasoned shōjin dashi is more useful, and a careful cook seasons at the dish, not at the storage jar.
• •The soaked shiitake are not scraps. Slice them for takikomi gohan, simmer them with soy and mirin, or add them to soup. The stock gives, and the mushrooms still have work left in them.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the konbu and dried shiitake overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, the dashi needs only gentle warming and straining.
• •Finished shōjin dashi keeps 3 days refrigerated. Freeze it in 1-cup portions for soups, simmered vegetables, and noodle broth.
• •For a lighter stock, stop after the cold soak and strain without heating. For most weeknight cooking, the warmed version gives better depth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)