Ingredients

• 10 cm piece of kombu
• 10 g dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi), about 4 cups
• 5 cups cold water
• 5 g dried wakame seaweed, about 3/4 cup
• 2 tablespoons miso paste
• 100 ml sake
• 100 g tofu

optional:

• shiitake mushrooms (8 pieces) from a can (see tips)
• sesame roasted in a dry pan
• chives

Preparation

1. First prepare dashi broth from kombu seaweed and bonito flakes. Place the kombu seaweed in a pot, pour 4 cups of cold water and set aside for 25 minutes to soak. Strain the broth into another pot, set aside the seaweed, it won't be needed for the soup. Bring the broth almost to a boil over low heat, then add 1 cup of water.
2. Add the bonito flakes and bring to a boil over higher heat. Remove from heat, skim, wait several minutes to more than ten minutes until the flakes sink to the bottom. Strain the broth through a sieve, the flakes won't be used.
3. Wakame seaweed should soak in cold water for about 10 - 15 minutes, after which it will significantly increase in volume.
4. To the boiled clear dashi broth add miso paste (previously dissolved in a few tablespoons of hot broth), sake, and immediately remove from heat.
5. Place a portion of drained wakame seaweed, tofu cut into cubes and drained shiitake mushrooms (if using) into bowls. Pour broth over and optionally sprinkle with roasted sesame.