Kombu Tsukudani (Japanese Simmered Kombu)

5 from 1 vote

This Kombu Tsukudani is perfect with rice or as a side since even in small quantities, it packs so much flavour. It’s traditionally quite salty so that it can last long (even with refrigeration) but I love mine with a good balance of sweet and salty so I tend to add more sugar to get it that nice sweetness to balance out the saltiness.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Sides, Starters

Cuisine Asian, East Asian, Japanese

Servings

Calories 41 kcal

Ingredients

Kombu

2 sheets kombu , makes 180g rehydrated (see notes)

To Simmer

1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Rehydrating Kombu

Skip these steps if you already have rehydrated kombu.
If not, cut through your kombu using a pair of scissors. I like to fold mine in half and cut around five 1” (2.5 cm) cuts on each side. You can see the video below.
Place the kombu in a large container or jar. Pour in the water.Leave the kombu and mushrooms to soak in the water overnight. I keep mine refrigerated.
You can see my Kake Udon recipe to use your kombu dashi,

Simmered Kombu

Thinly sliced the rehydrated kombu.
Heat a medium sized pan or pot over medium. Once hot, add in the water and kombu. Leave to boil.
Once it boils, add in the sake, mirin, soy sauces, and sugar. Mix well and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed and the sugars start the coat the kombu. Taste the kombu and feel free to adjust to your taste.
If your kombu is still a bit hard to the bite, you can add 2-3 tbsp more water and leave to cook a bit longer.
Once cooked and seasoned to your taste, turn off the heat and mix in the sesame seeds.
Transfer to air-tight containers and allow to cool completely before refrigerating. This will be good refrigerated for 2 weeks, or even longer. I love mine served over rice. You can enjoy yours with noodles, or as a delicious appetiser or side dish.

WATCH Video

Notes

Kombu

I used 2 dried kombu sheets. Each was around 4x8” (~10 x 20 cm) and 30 g (dried) in total.
The kombu I used for this recipe is from my Kake Udon recipe. I soaked the kombu for my dashi and turned the soaked kombu into this simmered kombu dish.
You may need to adjust the seasoning to your taste depending on how much kombu you have.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

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