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Mikeydude

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  1. Thanks for the reply Hiroyuki! Hmmm... what puzzles me though is that it states that if you boil the bonito/kombu for too long then you release a bitter taste. I presumed that this meant the flavour would be too overwhelming (?!). But they say all is not lost and you can just make secondary Dashi. Hmmm.. to me... secondary Dashi just tastes like a weaker version of primary. What do you think?
  2. Hey guys.... dunno if anyone out there is a Dashi (japanese soup base) expert, but I need some help. I'm struggling to make Dashi, and it really doesn't help that I've never tasted what the real thing is supposed to taste like. Anyway, I use 30g Konbu and 30g of Bonito flakes in my recipe plus a little more (about 10g for secondary Dashi). Following instructions from japanese legend Tsuji I gently heat the konbu in about 1L water until soft without allowing water to boil (about 10 mins), then take it out. I then add a small cup of cold water and bring to boil. Just as it does I add my Bonito flakes and turn the fire off, allowing about 60 seconds for the flakes to start sinking to the bottom of sauce pan. I then drain to have my primary dashi. Secondary dashi is made by simmering those ingredients in 1.5L water until about a 1/3 has reduced before adding my extra 10g bonito flakes and turning off fire... again draining the soup after about 30-60 seconds. My problem is... the secondary dashi tastes weaker than the primary... and I thought it was supposed to be the other way around ?! After all... primary is used for clear soups whilst secondary is for more rich soups / sauces ??? What am I doing wrong here? In terms of ingredients I only purchase good quality konbu and bonito flakes ... so i think it's more to do with technique. Anyone a master out there? Thanks for the help.
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