Shiitake Mushroom Dashi

Name: Shiitake Mushroom Dashi
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1.2 litres (2 pints/5 cups) cold water or Primary or Secondary Konbu Dashi; 1.2 litres (2 pints/5 cups) cold water or Primary or Secondary Konbu Dashi; 1.2 litres (2 pints/5 cups) cold water or Primary or Secondary Konbu Dashi; 5 g (⅛ oz) konbu (if using water); 5 g (⅛ oz) konbu (if using water); 30 g (1¼ oz) dried shiitake mushrooms; 1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar; pinch of sea salt

Preparation info

Makes about
1 litre

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Japanese Larder

By Luiz Hara

Published 2018

About

Dried shiitake mushrooms are rich in guanylate, a complex amino acid that adds great umami flavour to dashi stocks and food. After konbu, dried shiitake mushrooms are the preferred ingredient for vegetarian dashi stock in Japan.

Ingredients

1.2 litres (2 pints/5 cups) cold water or Primary

Asia
Japan
Stock
Sauce
Soup
Gluten-free
Vegan

Method

If using water, allow the konbu to soak in the measured water for 6-8 hours, then heat it in a pan until nearly boiling. If using konbu dashi, simply heat it in a pan until hot but not boiling, then remove from the heat.
Add the shiitake mushrooms, sugar and salt to the hot water and konbu or the konbu dashi and let them soak for 2-4 hours. Remove the mushrooms