Clear seafood broth

For a soup course (wan), the most important step is how you take the dashi. The basics of dashi come down to how you handle kombu and dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi). First, put kombu into water and, over low heat, draw out the dashi over 2 to 2.5 hours without ever letting it reach a boil at 100°C. Then, when you're ready to make the dashi, lift out the kombu, bring it to a boil once, and skim off the scum thoroughly. After that, add about 80g of blood-drained katsuobushi per sho (about 1.8 liters) of dashi to make the bonito dashi. At this point, if the umami still isn't strong enough, add more katsuobushi. When making bonito dashi, what matters most, above all else, is the kombu dashi. However good the katsuobushi you use, the synergy between the bonito dashi and the kombu dashi is what counts. Once kombu goes past 100°C it gives off off-flavors, so you must never let it boil. Conversely, katsuobushi below 100°C leaves behind a fishy smell, so getting that balance right is essential.

Making the dashi from the bones of a white fish like sea bream (tai) or fat greenling (ainame) is the basis of a clear soup made from fish stock alone. When taking that dashi, salt the bones ahead of time, rinse them in water, add kombu, and simmer. If fat from the fish is floating on the surface, it turns into an off-flavor, so remove it. Doing that gives you a taste with no off-flavors. When you notice a fishy smell, it helps to grill the bones before simmering them. Being mindful of the off-flavor that comes from the kombu itself and the fishiness the fish carries, carefully skimming off the scum as you go is essential. You do need to bring it to a boil at least once for the scum to rise, but if you boil it too hard, the dashi turns cloudy and off-flavors remain, so be careful.

1. Put kombu into water and, over low heat, draw out the dashi at a gentle simmer over 2 to 2.5 hours, never letting it reach a boil at 100°C.

2. Salt the sea bream bones ahead of time, rinse them in water, then add kombu to water mixed with sake, make a dashi with the seafood's flavor coming through, and adjust the seasoning.

3. Fillet the sea bream, sprinkle it lightly with salt, cut it as you like, and grill.

4. After treating the udo to keep it from discoloring, boil it briefly in hot water to just cook through, then let it soak up flavor in the dashi.

5. Boil the abalone mushroom (awabitake) until cooked through, cut it to whatever size you like, and let it soak up flavor in the dashi.