Japanese Clear Soup with Tofu, Mushrooms, and Mitsuba_Washoku Lesson

Make the katsuobushi and kombu dashi. Put the water and kombu into a pot and heat over very low heat. Remove the kombu just before it comes to a boil, then add the katsuobushi.

Turn the heat to medium, and when the katsuobushi rises gently to the surface, turn off the heat. Once the katsuobushi sinks to the bottom of the pot, strain through a fine strainer.

* After adding the katsuobushi, be careful not to let it boil vigorously.

* If you don’t have a fine strainer, line a colander with a paper towel and strain it that way.

* The katsuobushi used to make dashi is edible, so it can also be used as a filling for rice balls. Use the kombu in soup or other dishes.

Break the maitake mushrooms into bite-sized pieces. Separate the mitsuba leaves and stems, and cut the stems into 3 cm (1.2 in.) lengths. Cut the silken tofu (soft tofu) into 1 cm (0.4 in.) cubes. Put 300 ml (10.1 fl oz.) of the dashi from step 1 into a pot and heat over medium. Once it comes to a boil, add the salt and Kikkoman Soy Sauce and mix.

Add the maitake mushrooms and silken tofu (soft tofu), and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes. Place the silken tofu (soft tofu), maitake mushrooms, and mitsuba stems into bowls, then pour in the soup and top with the mitsuba leaves.