Step 1

Gently wipe any dust off konbu if necessary using dry towel or paper towel. Do not wash or remove white powder stuck on the surface of konbu by scraping it off as it is the umami (旨味).

Step 2

Add the water in a pot and soak the konbu for about 30 minutes if you have time. If you don’t have time, don’t worry.

Step 3

Place the pot over medium heat. When small bubbles start appearing in the pot, reduce heat to minimum and cook for about 10 minutes.

Step 4

Add katsuobushi and turn the heat up to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Step 5

Turn the heat off and wait until katsuobushi sinks to the bottom of the pan.

Step 6

Line a few layers of muslin or a paper towel over in a sieve and pour all the contents in the pan to into the sieve. Let it drain naturally, lightly squeezing the katsuobushi (Note 1).