Yanagi Batto (Willow-Leaf Buckwheat Dumpling Soup)

Remove heads and guts from 30g dried sardines and soak in 1600ml water for 20 minutes.

Heat over medium-low, steep 8 minutes from just before boiling, strain, and return broth to the pot.

Rehydrate freeze-dried tofu per package directions, squeeze firmly, and cut to 5mm strips.

Soak takana in cold water for 10 minutes, taste, squeeze when no longer too salty, and cut to 3cm.

Cut carrot, burdock, and daikon into strips 4cm long and 3mm thick.

Soak burdock in cold water 5 minutes and drain; trim shimeji and separate into small clusters.

Crumble 100g firm tofu finely in a bowl.

Add 150g buckwheat flour and 20ml warm water and knead 5 minutes. If cracking, add the remaining water gradually to earlobe softness.

Roll dough into a 1cm rope and tear to 5cm pieces.

Flatten between hands into 6cm willow leaves with pointed ends and centers no thicker than 4mm.

Simmer carrot, burdock, daikon, and shimeji in the sardine broth for 10 minutes.

Dissolve 25g miso in broth; when it returns to a boil, add dumplings one by one without overlap.

After all pieces float, simmer 4 minutes more and split the thickest to confirm no raw flour.

Dissolve the remaining 25g miso, turn off heat, add frozen tofu and takana, rest 1 minute, and serve.