Homemade Mentsuyu (Japanese Noodle Soup Base)

Homemade Mentsuyu (Japanese Noodle Soup Base)

from justonecookbook.com
15 min
2 servings

Lightly smoky and full of umami, Mentsuyu is a Japanese soup base used either hot or cold in a multitude of noodle dishes. You can easily make it at home with sake, mirin, soy sauce, and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). This Mentsuyu is concentrated.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup sake
  • 1⅛ cup mirin
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) ((5 g; 2 inches x 2 inches or 5 x 5 cm))
  • 1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

Directions

  1. 1

    Gather all the ingredients.

  2. 2

    In a saucepan, add the sake, mirin, and soy sauce.

  3. 3

    Add kombu and katsuobushi.

  4. 4

    Slowly bring it to a boil over medium-low heat.

  5. 5

    Then, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it cool.

  6. 6

    Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve (reserve the kombu and katsuobushi for another use—see below).

  7. 7

    This Mentsuyu is concentrated. In general, the mentsuyu-to-water ratio should be 1:2 for a dipping sauce for Zaru Soba/Udon, and 1:4 for Udon/Soba Noodle Soup. Please adjust the taste of your dipping sauce or soup broth by adding more mentsuyu or water.

  8. 8

    You can store the Mentsuyu in a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to a month.

  9. 9

    Save the spent kombu and katsuobushi in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for up to a month.