Japanese Stock Recipe
- 8 medium-sized dried shiitake (or Chinese black) mushrooms
- 6 scallions, each cut into 3 sections
- 2 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and each cut into 3 sections
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 4-inch square of kombu
- 2 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon mirin
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Rinse off the mushrooms quickly.
- In a small pot, combine the mushrooms, scallions, carrots, 3 cups water, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt.
- Cover and simmer gently on a low flame for 30 minutes. Wipe the kombu lightly with a damp cloth and put into the pot. Simmer for 1 minute.
- Turn off the heat and strain the stock immediately through three layers of cheesecloth.
- Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sesame oil to the stock. Stir to mix.
