Mentsuyu (Soup Base for Noodles) – Just One Cookbook Pantry

Mentsuyu is soup base used in soba and udon noodle dishes.  It’s made from dashi, katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.

There are two types of mentsuyu: kaketsuyu, which is poured hot over boiled noodles to make noodle soup, and tsuketsuyu which literally means “dipping soup” for chilled noodles.  We dilute the soup base depending on the use.  This soup base is usually concentrated, so dilute with water before using (The directions are on the bottle).