The complete recipe

Dashi
© Christianne Muusers

Dashi is the basic stock of Japanese cuisine. You can make it in several manners, but mostly dashi is made with seaweed and dired bonito. Below there are several recipes for making dashi. The two main dashi's are ichiban dashi and niban dashi, otherwise known as dashi I and dashi II. Unlike Western stock dashi only needs little time to prepare. You only need two ingredients (katsuoboshi=dried and smoked bonito flakes and kombu=dried seaweed), and water. 
Dashi I must always be made freshly, at the most a couple of hours in advance. Dashi II will keep up to three days in the refrigerator, and can be frozen. But the flavour will become less. 
Dashi I has a subtle favour and is used for elegant, clear soups which are served as one of the first courses in an elaborate menu. 
Dashi II is more robust, is used for sauces and miso soup. Miso (a kind paste of fermented  soy beans) has a very recognizable odour and taste (I like it).

The recipes for Dashi:

Ichiban dashi (dashi I)
1 litre (4 cups) cold water
10 gram (1/3 ounce) kombu (dried hard sheets of seaweed)
15 gram (1 cup) katsuoboshi (dried flakes of bonito)

Preparation: Wipe kombu with kitchen paper, put it in a pan. Add water, bring slowly to the boil. Take the kombu out of thewater just before it starts boiling. Add all katsuoboshi, bring the water to the boil once more, then immediately take the pan off the fire. The bonito flakes will swell. After five minutes, stain the dashi through a sieve with a fine-meshed cloth or paper towel.
Do not discard kombu and katsuoboshi, you may need it for making dashi II.

Niban dashi (dashi II )
Method a, if you do not need any dashi I:
 1,5 litre (6 cups) cold water
10 gram (1/3 ounce) kombu
15 gram (1 cup dry)katsuoboshi
10 gram (2/3 cup) new katsuoboshi

Preparation: Proceed as if making dashi I, but let the dashi simmer for twenty minutes after adding the first batch of katsuoboshi. Then add the second batch, take the pan off the fire, strain the dashi II after five minutes through a sieve covered with kitchen paper or cloth.
This is a good method when you don't need dasi I. But if you do, please use the recipe below.

Niban dashi (dashi II )
Method b, when you have made dashi I:
1,5 litre (6 cups) old water
kombu and katsuoboshi from dashi I
10 gram new katsuoboshi

Preparation: Return kombu and katsuoboshi that you've used for making dashi I to the pan. Add cold water, bring to the boil, let simmer until the water has been reduced to 1 litre. Add the second batch of katsuoboshi, take the pan off the fire, strain the dashi II after five minutes through a sieve covered with kitchen paper or cloth.

Vegetarian dashi
1 litre (4 cups) cold water
10 gram (1/3 ounce) kombu
15 gram dried shii-take

Preparation: Wipe kombu with kitchen paper, put it in a pan. Add water, bring slowly to the boil. Take the kombu out of thewater just before it starts boiling. Add dried shii-take mushrooms, let stand for fifteen minutes. Strain the niban dashi through a sieve covered with kitchen paper or cloth.
The shii-take can be used afterwards in other recipes.

Kombu dashi (also vegetarian)
15 gram (1/2 ounce) kombu
1 litre (4 cups) cold water

Preparation: Wipe Veeg de kombu with kitchen paper. Put in a bowl with cold water, let stand for a whole night. This dashi is not boiled.