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1
KANTŌ — Draw the dashi. Place kombu and cold water in a pot. Bring slowly to just below a simmer over medium-low heat; remove the kombu before the water boils. Raise heat; add katsuobushi. As soon as the liquid returns to a simmer, remove from heat and allow the flakes to settle, then strain through a fine-mesh cloth. The finished dashi is pale gold and fully clear.
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2
KANTŌ — Season the strained dashi with soy, mirin, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer. The broth must remain clear; any cloudiness signals it has been boiled hard. Taste for balance: clean, savoury, with no sharpness.
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3
KANTŌ — Grill or toast the kakumochi on a rack or under a broiler, turning once, until both faces are blistered and lightly charred and the cake puffs visibly — the interior is now soft and molten against a slightly smoky exterior. This takes 4–6 minutes depending on method.
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4
KANTŌ — This is where the dish lives or dies. Transfer one grilled kakumochi into each warmed bowl, ladle the hot seasoned dashi over it immediately, and garnish with mitsuba. Serve at once: mochi dissolves into a sticky, shapeless mass within 3–5 minutes in hot liquid. The window between the mochi reaching correct softness — outside yielding, inside still faintly resistant — and full dissolution is narrow. The diner must eat immediately.
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5
KYOTO — Prepare dashi as above. Add daikon and satoimo to the hot dashi; simmer until just tender, 8–10 minutes. Add the marumochi raw; simmer gently 3–4 minutes, until the exterior yields under light pressure from a spoon but the centre still holds its shape.
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6
KYOTO — Remove the pot from the heat. Whisk shiromiso into the broth in small additions until fully dissolved; do not return to the boil. The broth must remain a smooth, pale, opaque cream — boiling turns it grey and destroys the delicate koji fragrance. Ladle into warmed bowls immediately and serve.