My Mother's Fragrant, All-Purpose Mentsuyu Noodle Sauce

• 1 liter Water
• 30 grams Bonito flakes (regular)
• 120 ml Sake
• 50 ml Mirin
• 180 ml Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 5 grams Bonito flakes (large, thin flakes called hana-katsuo)

1. Bring the water to a boil in a pan.
2. Turn down the heat to low, and add the regular bonito flakes.
3. Simmer slowly for 3 minutes, then strain off the bonito flakes.
4. In a sepate pan, bring the sake and mirin to a boil (to evaporate the alcohol).
5. Add the soy sauce and sugar to the sake and mirin, and bring to a boil.
6. Add the dashi stock from Step 1 to the pan from Step 3, and bring to a boil.
7. Add the large thin bonito flakes at the very and and turn off the heat immediately.
8. Use the sauce to flavor blanched vegetables, dashimaki tamago (rolled omelette), soups, as well as for udon, soba or somen noodle sauce.
9. This is not a concentrate so you can use it as-is!
10. I edited the recipe a little.
11. Use this to flavor kinpira gobo (stir fried burdock root with sesame oil and chili pepper).
12. Just add about 50 ml of the sauce to the stir fried burdock root, boil down rapidly and done!

water, bonito flakes, sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, bonito flakes

Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/171958-my-mothers-fragrant-all-purpose-mentsuyu-noodle-sauce (may not work)