Video:How to Make Hoshi Shiitake Broth

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Transcript:How to Make Hoshi Shiitake Broth

Hi, I'm Mamie Nishide of the Japanese Cooking Studio in New York, and Gotta Eat Sweets for About.com. In this video, I'm going to show you how to rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms and make hoshi shiitake dashi, or dried shiitake broth.

Ingredients for the Hoshi Shiitake

You will need:

• 1 oz. dried Shiitake mushrooms
• 1 3-x-3 piece Kombu (dried kelp)
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups hot water

This recipe makes 4 cups of broth. You can get these ingredients at your local Japanese or Asian grocery store.

Rehydrate the Hoshi Shiitake

Now I'm going to show you how to rehydrate hoshi shiitake and make hoshi shiitake dashi. Take the hoshi shiitake and wipe off any towel. Put them in a bowl. Add 2 cups of water.

Make sure all of the shiitake are under the water by using a lid or some kind of a weight. Soak for 4 to 6 hours.

Make the Hoshi Shiitake Broth

Clean the kombu with a damp towel. Soak the dried kelp in hot water for 1 hour. Here we have dried shiitake mushroom soaked in water for 4 hours, and dried kelp, soaked in hot water for 1 hour.

Now combine both and strain. When you strain the dashi, use cheese cloth, triple-layered, or use two layers of paper towel.

Tips for Using Hoshi Shiitake Broth

Now we have a beautiful shiitake mushroom dashi and re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms. You can use the shiitake mushrooms for many dishes. Hoshi-shiitake dashi has a smoky and earthy flavor.

It is good for soup, stewing vegetables, and many other dishes. It's a very nice vegetarian dashi. It will give a rich mushroom flavor to whatever you cook with it.

Thanks for watching. To learn more about Japanese cooking, please visit About.com.