Dashi

Regular dashi 出汁, the foundational ingredient in Japanese cooking, is made from konbu [kelp] and dried bonito fish flakes; however, vegan dashi is made using just konbu or a combination of konbu and dried shiitake mushrooms. To make the dashi, place a piece of konbu about 15-20cms long and 6-8 dried shiitake mushrooms in a container of 4 cups of water, seal the container and put it in the fridge for 24-48 hours. Or, if you can’t wait that long, put the ingredients in a saucepan on a very low flame and slowly bring to the boil. As soon as the first little bubbles appear, before it reaches a rolling boil, switch off the heat and leave the stock to cool naturally.