/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Cool. I've started getting into Japanese cooking, so this is pretty interesting. Should try to make my own dashi stock with bonito and kelp at some point.

>>14499548
Dashi stock and other 101 ingredients used in 90% of their cooking have made it rather difficult for me to get that authentic japanese taste.

I need to look into how to make them on my own I guess. For the time being I started baking my own bread. Twice as delicious and costs less than half of the ones you can buy.

Captcha: Select all the food.
lol

>>14499548
Making your own dashi is easy, but requires quite a bit of katsuobushi since it is so light in body and weight. After all, the fillet of fish after the the drying and smoking process is less than 20% of the original weight. If you have found a shop that sells katsuobushi, chances are it has kombu as well, which I cook with rice quite a lot.
I still recommend trying to make your own dashi, since it used in so many Japanese recipes. Trying miso with dashi is incomparable without it.

I just bought a bunch of ingredients from online, including powdered dashi. Japanese cooks say it's ok to use powdered dashi instead of making the stock yourself every time. Here's some stuff I ordered last time.

So far I've only made okonomiyaki and yakisoba/yakiudon, but they've turned out like the real thing. I was visiting Japan earlier this year's fall so I've got quite a good reference.

>>14499571
There's a store downtown which sells katsuobushi, but I haven't bought any yet. Same store also had that kelp which is used for the stock.

This is honkarebushi, "true dried fillet". It is similar to katsuobushi, but it has gone through the process of bacteria culture and drying many more times. It can take two years to finish.

>>14499574
>Japanese cooks say it's ok to use powdered dashi instead of making the stock yourself every time.

I can agree with this, especially for westerners ordering from overseas the prices add up. It is still good to try making true dashi once in a while, but if you are one to have miso soup every day then you should suffice with dashi granules.
It is good practice to check if there are any local stores that sell Japanese ingredients, you may save a bit from mail ordering. Many stores like T&T stock Kewpie Mayo as well as other more mainstream Japanese ingredients.

>>14499591
I've no idea what T&T stands for, but yeah, I've pretty much scoured all the Asian stores in this city for Japanese ingredients. I can find all the basic stuff.

I've gotten into good relations with my local Asian store's keeper, I got her to order dashi and she also has fresh yam for okonomiyaki.

I should make miso next, I've only tried the different instant-miso packs, and they're quite lackluster compared to the real thing.

Or ramen, now that winter's around the corner. This was so good.

>>14499616
T&T is just a supermarket chain in my area, I guess it's exclusively Canadian.
I recommend trying dried shiitake, and seeing what you can do with them.

I soak them for 30-45 minutes in a bit of water, remove them, and mix the mushroom stock with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar (alternatively, you could take the stock and make mushroom miso soup). Then you just simmer the mushrooms in the mixture, slice, and have with your rice. You can also garnish with katsuobushi with almost anything.

Mushrooms contain a natural form of MSG, so they will taste great with many things.

>>14499678
Odds are the shiitake in your picture is from the Mainland. Their food quality is shit. I wouldn't eat that if I were you.

>>14499690
Not my pic, just an example.
I picked up a package of dried imported shiitake, so that's what I've been munching on for the time being.
Can't comment on other brands quality.