We discovered this dipping sauce on our travels recently: it adds a subtle, smoky depth to any sushi, and can be used over rice.
Mechanic
The base is 5 parts soy sauce to 3 parts mirin. Boil the mirin first to cook off its alcohol, then only warm the soy; a hard boil dulls its flavour. The bonito steeps off the heat, like tea: a short steep gives a light, savoury sauce, and a full day gives a deeper smokiness.
Ingredients
- 600 ml (2½ cups) mirinMirinSweet Japanese rice wine for cooking, lower in alcohol than sake.
- 1 tbsp sake, optional, for extra depth
- 1 L (4 cups) Japanese soy sauce (shoyuShoyuJapanese soy sauce, brewed from soybeans and wheat.)
- 10–15 g (a large handful) dried bonito flakesKatsuobushiSkipjack tuna that has been simmered, smoked and dried hard, then shaved into paper-thin flakes. (katsuobushi)
Method
Pour the mirin and sake into a saucepan. Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat and let it bubble for 15 to 30 seconds to cook off the alcohol.
Lower the heat and pour in the soy sauce. Warm it gently until it almost reaches a simmer, without letting it boil.
Take the pan off the heat. Add the bonito flakes, cover, and let steep for 10 to 30 minutes. For a deeper, smokier sauce, leave it covered for a full day, in the fridge or at room temperature.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a paper coffee filter into a clean glass bottle or jar. Discard the flakes.
Seal and refrigerate.
To serve
As a dipping sauce for sushi and sashimi, with Pickled ginger (gari) on the side.
Notes
- Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Close to nikiri (the sweetened soy sauce brushed onto sushi) and tosa shoyu (soy sauce seasoned with bonito).
- Halve the recipe for a smaller bottle; the ratio holds.
- Adapted from a recipe a sushi chef shared with me.