Tempura Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons mirin (sweet cooking wine)
• 2 cups dashi (fish stock) see recipe below
• 5 tablespoons usukuchi shoyu (light color soy sauce)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 quarts water
• One 6-inch square kombu (kelp)
• 1 cup tightly packed katsuobushi (bonito fish flakes)

Instructions

1. 1
   In a medium pot, bring all the ingredients to a boil.
2. 2
   Remove the pot from the heat, and let the sauce cool to room temperature.
3. 3
   You can refrigerate the sauce for up to three days, covered. Before using, heat it through and let it cool to room temperature.
4. 4
   Dashi: Wipe the kombu with a damp cotton cloth or paper towel.
5. 5
   In a large pot, bring the water and kombu almost to a boil over low-medium heat. Cook the kombu for 10 minutes.
6. 6
   Remove the kombu and preserve for the dashi preparation. Add the fish flakes all at once and count to 10.
7. 7
   Turn off the heat, skim off any foam, and let the mixture stand for 2 minutes.
8. 8
   Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a tightly woven cotton cloth. Discard the bonito flakes, or preserve them for the second stock.
9. 9
   Refrigerate the stock, tightly covered, for up to four days, or freeze it.
10. 10
    Yields 2 quarts stock