Kombu is the omnipresent seaweed in Japanese cuisine, particularly visible in miso soups, but… invisible too, since it is used to make the famous dashi, the broth that forms the basis of many soups and fondues!
In short, there’s no Japanese cuisine without kombu seaweed.
A distinction is generally made between kombu for eating and kombu used to make dashi. Hidaka kombu is special in that it can be used for both. However, it produces a rich, very fragrant dashi. What’s more, even though it cooks quickly, it doesn’t lose its shape, making it ideal for kombu rolls.
About Okui Kaiseido
Founded in 1870 in the town of Tsuruga by a deposed samurai, the Okui Kaiseido shop takes advantage of its geographical location: Tsuruga is the port of call for the boats carrying kombu from Hokkaido to Kyoto, making it a strategic point for the supply of kombu seaweed. For more than 150 years, the shop has preserved its traditional manual production methods and the selection criteria that earned it the prestigious licence to supply the imperial family (goyotashi).
