Japanese Soy (Shoyu) Soup Base

2 clove finely chopped garlic
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
4 cup chicken soup stock, shitake stock (see below), or vegetable stock
2 cup kombudashi soup stock (see below)
2 Tbsp sake
2 tsp sugar
6 tbsp soy sauce
juice of lemon, kumquats, or yuzu juice

Heat sesame oil in a deep pan. Sauté chopped ginger and garlic in the pan. Lower the heat. Add chicken soup stock and kombudashi soup stock in the pan and bring to a boil. Add sugar, salt, sake, and soy sauce in the soup. Run the soup through a strainer. Serve hot soup into individual bowls. In the meantime, boil water in a large pan. Add ramen, soba, or udon noodles in the boiling water and cook for a few minutes. Drain the noodles and serve in the hot soup. Place toppings, such as chicken, beef, scallions, boiled egg, leeks, spinach, carrots, mushroom, nori seaweed.

*Makes 4 servings

KombuDashi Stock

4 cups of water
8 inch by 2 inch kombu (dried kelp)

Wipe the kombu with clean cloth. (*Kombu shouldn’t be washed.) Put water in a deep pot and soak the kombu for about 30 minutes. Put on low heat. Just before the water comes to a boil, remove the kombu. Stop the heat.
*Makes 4 cups

Shitaake Soup Base 

Dried shitaake mushrooms
2 cups of water

Combine dried shitaakes with water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Let it sit for at least 30 minutes. 

Miso Soup Base

When you add noodles to it, it becomes miso ramen/miso soba/miso udon/whichever kind of noodle you’ve added.

1/4 Tbsp dashi granules
1 to 2 Tbsp(s)  white (shiro) miso*
1 1/2 cups water

*The amount of miso will need to be adjusted upwards or downwards depending on the brand of miso you buy and whether it’s aka (red – saltier) or shiro (white – less salty) miso. Start with 1 Tbsp and taste test; then add more if you like.

Purchase items in BOLD in-store at Surfas or online at Culinary District!