Product Description
Kombu is sold dried (dashi konbu) or pickled in vinegar (su konbu) or as a dried shred (oboro konbu,tororo konbu or shiraga konbu). It may also be eaten fresh in sashimi. Kombu is used extensively in Japanese cuisines as one of the three main ingredients needed to make dashi, a soup stock. Konbu dashi is made by putting either whole dried or powdered kombu in cold water and heating it to near-boiling. The softened kombu is commonly eaten after cooking or is sliced and used to make tsukudani, a dish that is simmered in soy sauce and mirin. Kombu may be pickled with sweet-and-sour flavoring, cut into small strips about 5 or 6 cm long and 2 cm wide. These are often eaten as a snack with green tea. It is often included when cooking beans, putatively to add nutrients and improve their digestibility. Konbu-cha or kobu-cha is a tea made by infusing kombu in hot water. What Americans call kombucha is called "kocha kinoko" in Japan.[21] Kombu is also used to prepare a seasoning for rice to be made into sushi.
