[jyl]

Almond dressing recipe for Webb

3/4 cup almonds, skinned and toasted
2/3 cup dashi
7 tbsp rice vinegar
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
Stick it all it the food processor and whir to a sauce.

You can buy instant dashi, or make it
2 qt cold water
a few pieces of kelp, totaling about 20 inches
Kelp in cold water, bring slowly to almost boiling (bubbles coming from bottom of pot), hold there for 10 min or until kelp is soft
Remove kelp
Add 1/2 cup cold water
Add 3 cup bonito flakes
Bring back to boil, then turn heat off, wait until flakes sink to bottom (a couple minute), then strain stock (cheesecloth, chinois, etc) to remove flakes and get clear broth

You can scale down the dashi recipe, and you can also bugger all the subtlety and simply stick a handful of kelp and bonito flakes in water, bring to boil, off heat, let it sit for awhile and strain.