Mentsuyu

Mentsuyu (literally 'noodle broth') is the foundational liquid of Japanese noodle cookery, appearing in two distinct concentrations. Kaketsuyu is the ready-to-eat hot soup poured directly over soba or udon, diluted to roughly 1 part tsuyu concentrate to 9–13 parts water. Tsuyu (or kaketsuyu's concentrated parent) is used undiluted or diluted 1:2–3 as a cold dipping sauce (tsuke-jiru) for zaru soba and hiyashi udon. The base requires three components: dashi — ideally katsuobushi (bonito flake) and kombu — for umami depth; mirin for sweetness and body; and koikuchi shoyu (dark soy sauce) for salt and color. Classic proportions for a multipurpose tsuyu concentrate are roughly 8 parts soy sauce : 7 parts mirin : 16 parts dashi, though regional styles vary considerably. Kansai-style mentsuyu skews lighter and saltier with a higher dashi-to-soy ratio; Kanto-style (Tokyo) is darker and more robustly flavored. The mirin must be heated to drive off alcohol before combining — a step called nikiri. Katsuobushi is steeped in the warm liquid and strained through muslin, yielding a clean, refined stock. Bottled mentsuyu (hon-tsuyu) is ubiquitous in Japanese supermarkets and functions as an all-purpose seasoning beyond noodles: it seasons tamagoyaki, nimono simmered vegetables, tempura dipping sauce (tentsuyu), and oyakodon.

“She whisked the warm mentsuyu into cold water at a 1:10 ratio, poured it over buckwheat soba, and finished with a pinch of shichimi togarashi.”

• IngredientDashi
• IngredientMirin
• TechniqueSoba Making

1. 1.Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art — Shizuo Tsuji
2. 2.The Japanese Kitchen — Hiroko Shimbo
3. 3.Japanese Farm Food — Nancy Singleton Hachisu
4. 4.Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking — Masaharu Morimoto

Confidence: high