How do I keep my tsuyu ice cold while eating dinner?

During the summer, I add a couple small ice cubes to the dipping bowl. As the ice melts, it dilutes the concentrated broth while keeping it icy and cold. If the ice dilutes it too much, I just add a bit more mentsuyu from the jar in the fridge to even things out. Not very scientific, but highly doable.

Only as salty as you want it to be. My husband adds very little water to his mentsuyu, especially when dipping cold noodles. But he has a salty palate. What I love about this concentrated soup base is that everyone can add as much or as little water as they want to suit their personal tastes.

Why is my mentsuyu bitter?

If it's bitter, it's probably because the kombu was boiled. Kombu is a fantastic source of umami, but I pull it out of the water as soon as the pot starts boiling.

Mentsuyu

Name: Mentsuyu
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 2 inches by 4 inches piece of kombu; 1 cup water; 1 teaspoon dashi powder; 2 tablespoons regular Japanese soy sauce such as Kikkoman or Yamasa; 2 tablespoons mirin

Description

4 ingredients. Traditional Japanese flavor. Having this all purpose Japanese soup base in the fridge means I can be ready to slurp udon in the time it takes me to boil the noodles.

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 inches by 4 inches piece of kombu
1 cup water
1 teaspoon dashi powder
2 tablespoons regular Japanese soy sauce such as Kikkoman or Yamasa
2 tablespoons mirin

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Instructions

Soak the kombu: Place the kombu and water in a small pot and leave for 30 minutes.
Bring the water to a boil: Turn the heat to medium and warm up the water for 10 minutes – it should not be boiling at this point.
Boil the water: Turn up the heat and bring the water to a boil. Discard the kombu as soon as the water boils.
Add the remaining ingredients: Stir in the dashi powder, soy sauce, and mirin. Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Let the tsuyu cool down: Turn the heat off and let the mentsuyu cool to room temperature.
Store it: Transfer to a glass jar or other storage container and refrigerate. Use it as a dipping sauce for noodles or as a broth for noodle soups (added with water).

Notes

Refrigerate mentsuyu in a glass jar with a lid for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
Calories: 13
Sugar: 1.8g
Sodium: 132mg
Fat: 0g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 2.6g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0.4g
Cholesterol: 0mg