Shrimp Noodle Bowl

This was a lot of fun, my daughter and I made dashi from scratch - what is dashi? Its a Japanese fish stock and it serves as a base for a wonderful noodle bowl, featuring shrimp and tofu...the kombu is dried kelp, and its responsible for one of the five tastes the human tongue experiences, umami (or savoriness) the other four are: bitterness, sourness, sweetness and saltiness...

Dashi

• 8 cups cold water
• 2x4" pieces of kombu (dried kelp) wiped with a dry cloth
• 1 cup bonito flakes (dried fish flakes)
• 1" piece peeled and sliced ginger
• 1 oz mixed dried mushrooms

Udon with shrimp

• Dashi
• 3/4 lb raw shrimp
• 1/2 cup diced firm tofu
• 2 green onions, sliced into 2" pieces and then sliced thinly lenthwise

put kombu in a soup pot, cover with water and bring to a simmer
(do NOT boil) let simmer for 20 mins, discard kombu, add bonito and ginger (off heat)
let sit for 10 mins. Drain stock, discard solids. Return stock to pot add dried mushrooms and let
sit for 20 mins, drain stock and reserve mushrooms, coarsly chop. Return stock to pot and heat, add shrimp and tofu cook for a few mins until shrimp turns pink, add chopped mushrooms, season with salt and white pepper.

Cook Udon noodles according to package directions (in boiling water for 3 mins if using fresh udon) Place 1 cup of noodels in each serving bowl, ladle some dashi and shrimp atop and garnish with green onions