About the Recipe
There are always those times when you open your pantry cupboard and (aaaargh!) find you a missing a key ingredient. If you find yourself with no bonito flakes and you want to make a god quality dashi stock, here's an alternative for you. It won't be quite as rich but it will still have a certain depth of flavour and a fragrant whiff of umami , courtesy of the shiitake. This also makes a great vegetarian/vegan alternative as it contains no animal or fish products.
Ingredients
5g dried kelp, cut into 10cm strips
5g, dried shiitake mushrooms
500ml water
a sheet of kitchen paper
Preparation
dampen the kitchen paper and wipe the kelp clean (don’t clean it under running water)
soak the kelp and the shiitake in the water for 30 mins
remove the shiitake
bring the water & kelp to the boil and quickly remove the kelp