Cold Brew Kombu Dashi (Vegan)
Cold Brew Kombu Dashi (Vegan) is the easiest method to make authentic Japanese kombu dashi that can be used for anything from soups to flavored cooking liquid! Unlike the simmered kombu dashi, no cooking required but the result is always delicious.Yield: about 960 ml or 4 cups*Unit is in the metric system by default for more accuracy.
Ingredients
- 1000 ml purified (filtered) water
- 10 g dried kombu I use ma-kombu
Instructions
- Gently wipe dried kombu with a damp cloth. If the kombu is too wide, cut into an appropriate size to fit the container.
- In a large jar with a lid, combine water and dried kombu. Close the lid and let it soak for 8-10 hours in the fridge.
- After 8-10 hours of soaking, remove the kombu and it's ready to use. You can save the kombu to cook other dishes (see the notes below.)
Notes
- Ingredient ratio
- The basic formula that you can use to make perfectly brewed kombu dashi is 100:1 (i.e. 1000 ml water with 10 g kombu.)
- The best way to measure the volume is using a scale. It's more accurate for the obvious reasons.
- Using the recipe default, 1000 ml (4 1/4 cups) water and 10 g (0.35 oz), comes out perfectly all the time.
- If you like more intense kombu taste, use the same amount of water but increase the amount of kombu up to 20 g (0.7 oz.)
- Choice of dried kombu
- I use ma-kombu for making kombu dashi. You can find one at The Japanese Pantry and Umami Insider.
- Other authentic Japanese dried kombu you can use for everyday dashi would be rausu kombu, rishiri kombu or hidaka kombu if available. I typically use ma-kombu which makes sophisticated aroma & clean flavor/color kombu dashi.
- Every dried kombu makes different tasting dashi. I recommend you trying a few different options to explore the flavor difference.
- How to clean kombu
- All you need is to gently wipe the surface of kombu with a damp cloth.
- Kombu may have some white powder on the surface which is actually the natural umami element. Wipe carefully.
- Leftover kombu
- Don't throw away the kombu after brewing! What I do is to slice them into thin strip or small pieces then transfer to a container with a lid. Keep in the freezer until I have a substantial amount to cook with. Then I make sweet & savory kombu which is delicious with Japanese rice.
- How to use
- You can consume cold brew kombu either uncooked or cooked. I mainly use it for heat-applied cooking only.
- How to store
- You can store cold brew kombu dashi in the container you brewed and keep in the fridge.
- For the best taste, consume within 2-3 days and finish within 5 days.
- You can make ahead and store in the same container or transfer to an ice cube tray and keep in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.
- Whichever the way you may choose, it's best to consume as soon as possible for the best taste possible.