What do you do with the leftover kombu from making Japanese soup stock (dashi)" Make Kombu Tsukudani (Simmered Kombu) cooked in a sweet and savory sauce. It’s a great dish to accompany your ordinary steamed rice!

Once you start making Japanese dishes, you will realize you are left with used kombu from making homemade dashi (Japanese soup stock), Mentsuyu (noodle soup base) or Ponzu Sauce. Don’t throw these leftover kombu pieces away! We’ll make them into delicious Simmered Kombu called Kombu Tsukudani.
What’s Kombu Tsukudani"
Tsukudani (??) is seafood/fish, shellfish, meat, seaweed, or vegetable that has been simmered in sweet and savory sauce (typically with soy sauce, sugar, mirin) for a long time. It usually has an intensely sweet and savory flavor, which helps preserve the ingredients. Because of the strong flavor, Tsukudani has been served as a side dish to accompany plain steamed rice since the Edo period (1600s-1800s). We call it the Gohan no Okazu (??????), or rice side dish, as it’s eaten with steamed rice as a flavoring agent.
Tsukudani is always served and eaten chilled from the refrigerator and will not be cooked again prior to eating.
Kombu Tsukudani (?????) is one of the most common tsukudani, and I think it’s the best way to use up all your used kombu.

Did You Know Kombu has Varieties"
Do you know which type of kombu are you using" If you are new to Kombu, check out my Kombu post which I discuss diff...