Shio Tare

also called shio tare · 塩ダレ · salt tare · salt base for ramen · shio dare · ramen salt seasoning · white tare

The table

Salt on its own tastes like the sea; the scallop and the kombu are what stop it.
1 piece(4 in)kombusoak cold 8 hrwarm to 160°F (70°C), hold 20 minstir the salt in until it disappearsstrain and bottle
2(conpoy, or 2 dried shiitake)dried scallop
1/2 cup(120 mL)water
1/4 cup(60 mL)sake
1/4 cup(60 g)fine sea salt
2 Tbs(30 mL; light-coloured, saltier than dark)usukuchi soy sauce
1 Tbs(15 mL)mirin
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.8 things to get out.

Before anything else

2soak cold 8 hr

4stir the salt in until it disappears

goes in with what step 3 made

Cooking it

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 8 hr 20 mintwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
none givenof the steps that give a time

2 of the 4 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 8 hr 45 min.

  1. soak cold 8 hr

    8 hrwalk awayfrom the start

  2. warm to 160°F (70°C), hold 20 min

    20 minwalk away8 hr in

  3. stir the salt in until it disappears

    not timed8 hr 20 min in

  4. strain and bottle

    not timed8 hr 20 min in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Shio Tare
>> category: Sauces & Gravies
>> tags: japanese, salt, ramen, seasoning, make-ahead
>> counters: Ramen Shop
>> aka: shio tare, 塩ダレ, salt tare, salt base for ramen, shio dare, ramen salt seasoning, white tare
>> pairs-with: shio-ramen, tonkotsu-ramen, dashi
>> servings: 12
>> time: 8 hr 45 min
>> step.1: Salt on its own tastes like the sea; the scallop and the kombu are what stop it.
>> step.2: soak cold 8 hr
>> step.3: warm to 160°F (70°C), hold 20 min
>> step.4: stir the salt in until it disappears
>> step.5: strain and bottle

Salt on its own tastes like the sea; the scallop and the kombu are what stop it.

Soak @kombu{1%piece}(4 in) and @dried scallop{2}(conpoy, or 2 dried shiitake) in @water{1/2%cup}(120 mL) and @sake{1/4%cup}(60 mL) in the fridge ~soak{8%hr}, until the scallop has swollen and can be pulled into threads.

Warm @&(~1)soaked kombu and scallop{} to 160°F (70°C) and hold it there ~steep{20%min}. Never let it boil — a shio tare has nowhere to hide, and anything scorched or slimy in it goes straight into a bowl that is otherwise clear.

Stir @fine sea salt{1/4%cup}(60 g) into @&(~1)infusion{} off the heat until not a grain is left on the bottom, then @usukuchi soy sauce{2%Tbs}(30 mL; light-coloured, saltier than dark) and @mirin{1%Tbs}(15 mL). Usukuchi is for colour as much as taste: dark soy would make this a pale shoyu tare instead.

Strain @&(~1)tare{} into a bottle and keep it cold. A scant tablespoon and a half per bowl, and taste the broth once it is in — this is the seasoning for the whole bowl, so it should read as slightly too salty in the spoon on its own.