Dipping Sauce for Cold Soba

This dipping sauce is a perfect accompaniment to cold soba noodles. I typically like to eat cold soba noodles with the chilled dipping sauce in summer. Summer in Texas can soar up to over a 100F (40 celcius, no kidding!!!) and nothing beats something cool and refreshing like this dish.

To make the dipping sauce, you will need to make the dashi first. I usually make a big pot of dashi and refrigerate the leftovers for future use. If the idea of making the dashi scares you, you can always buy ready made dashi from your local Japanese grocery store. After making the dashi, that's when you start to add the mirin and soy sauce.

Bonito flakes

Konbu

Ingredients for approx. 4 cups of dashi:
2 Sheets dashi Konbu wiped with damp cloth
1 1/2 cups tightly pack bonito flakes
5 cups of water

1. Put dashi konbu & water in a pot & bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to low & boil for another 7-10 minutes
3. Remove dashi konbu & add in bonito flakes
4. Return the soup stock to a boil and boil for an additional 1-2 minutes
5. Strain stock in a fine mesh sieve

Now for the dipping sauce:

1 cup dashi
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 stalk chopped onions for garnishing

1. Mix all the liquid ingredients together. You may taste and add to your liking.
2. Refrigerate the sauce till it's chilled
2. Add in spring onions