Dashi Broth for Ramen

How to make dashi broth for ramen soup with soy sauce eggs, noodles and vegetables.

How to make dashi broth for ramen soup with soy sauce eggs is the last post from the Stocks and Broths series. I wanted to end with something that was completely new for me, something that I have never cooked or eaten before.

I've heard of dashi many times before but never got the chance to eat it anywhere or cook it myself. Japanese restaurants are not something you would find in rural Germany, the only good sushi I get to eat is when traveling to a larger city, like Munich or Cologne.

And to be able to buy Japanese ingredients to make the dashi myself, well, for that I would have to drive about 60 km to Kassel or order the stuff online.

How to make?

• Dashi is the Japanese stock resulting when cooking kombu, which is edible kelp or seaweeds and katsuobushi or bonito flakes, which are preserved, fermented tuna flakes.
• Dashi is the basic stock used in Japanese cooking, the base for a large variety of Japanese soups, including miso soup or udon noodle soup.
• I used the first batch I've made to make an absolutely delicious ramen soup with soy sauce eggs and other toppings, like scallions, corn kernels, fried mushrooms, wakame (also seaweed and something I bought for this occasion – what to do with the rest, I wonder?).
• I am talking about the first batch because I used the instructions I found on Just One Cookbook (where else to look when it comes to Japanese cooking?) and used the already cooked kombu and bonito flakes to make “second dashi”, which has a little less power than the “first dashi” but it's still flavorsome enough to get you a really nice miso soup when needed.
• And since the few grams of kombu and bonito flakes were so expensive I went even further following the instructions on Just One Cookbook and made furikake out of the twice-cooked ingredients, which is some kind of rice seasoning.

So what can I say, my first try in Japanese cooking was a success and I can proudly present to you not only this homemade dashi but also a delicious ramen soup recipe topped with some of the most delicious eggs I have eaten in my life.

What to put in the ramen soup?

• Heat the dashi gently and stir in the mirin, sake, and soy sauce and salt to taste.
• Add sliced and golden-fried mushrooms.
• Cooked ramen noodles.
• Soaked wakame.
• Chopped vegetables like green onions/scallions, corn.
• Boiled eggs with a slightly runny yolk. Soy sauce eggs would be best, but regular boiled eggs are fine as well.

Soy sauce eggs:

• Boil the eggs.
• Place in a bowl of ice water and leave until cool enough to handle.
• In the meantime mix soy sauce with warm water, sugar, and vinegar.
• Peel the eggs and place them in the marinade.
• Marinade for at least 2 hours and up to 6.
• Halve and serve with the ramen soup.

Stocks and Broths Series

Roasted Vegetable Broth and Hazelnut Dumplings

Beef Broth and Dill Pancakes

Chicken Stock and Semolina Dumplings

How to Make Bone Broth

Homemade Fish Stock with Salmon Balls