Cooking time: 20 minutes Ingredients

4 medium-sized shrimp or 8 to 12 small shrimp 2 pieces okra

Broth: 4 cups dashl (bonito fish stock, recipe page 26), 2/3 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 inch (2.5cm) square piece lemon rind, as condiment

Cooking time: 15 minutes Ingredients

4 large- or 8 medium-sized clams, live or very fresh, in their shells

4 inch (loom) square piece konbu (dried kelp) 1/2 tender, long green onion

Broth: 4 cups water, 2/3 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sake (rice wine) or dry white wine, 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

1 inch (2.5cm) square piece lemon rind, as condiment

Cooking time: 20 minutes Ingredients

3 ounces (809) chicken, bones and skin removed To preflavor chicken: pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon sake (rice wine) or dry white wine 1 ounce (259) carrot 2 eggs

Broth: 4 cups dashi (bonito fish stock, recipe page 26), 2/3 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Clear soups are elegant soups. Special care should be given to the flavor, texture, color, shape, size and season of ingredients and to the overall beauty of their arrangement in the bowl. Garnishes with refreshing fragrances are added just before serving.

Clear Soup with Shrimp and Okra

1. Peel shrimp, but leave tails and last section of shell nearest the tail attached. Remove veins by inserting toothpick under vein at center of the back and pulling up gently.

2. Bring to boil small amount of water containing pinch of salt. Put in shrimp, boil 2 to 3 minutes or until done (time depending on size of shrimp) and drain.

3. Cut okra into ~ inch (0.5cm) thick rounds. 4. Cut lemon rind into needle-fine strips.

5. Bring dashito boil, then add salt. When salt has dissolved, add soy sauce. Put in okra and turn off heat.

6. Put one medium-sized shrimp or a few small ones into each soup bowl. Ladle in piping hot soup and serve im mediately with 3 to 4 fine strips of lemon rind on top.

Clear Soup with Clams

1. Put clams into colander and immerse in salt water containing 1 teaspoon salt per cup of water. The water should almost cover the clams. Clams should be kept in a dark cool place until use.

2. Wipe konbu with damp dish towel to remove any sand, and cut crosswise into 4 pieces with scissors.

3. Cut long green onion crosswise into paper-thin slices. 4. Cut lemon rind into needle-fine strips. 5. Just before cooking, rinse clams under running water.

6. Put clams and konbu into 4 cups water, and bring to boil. Just before water simmers, take out konbu. Remove scum, then add salt, sake and soy sauce. Continue to boil until clams open, then add long green onion and turn off heat.

7. Put 1 to 2 clams into soup bowls, and ladle in the boiling hot soup. Add a few pieces of lemon rind

Note: Clams which do not open when heated are not edible and should be picked out and thrown away.

Japanese Egg-drop Soup with Chicken and Carrot

1. Dice chicken and sprinkle with salt and sake or dry white wine. 2. Cut carrot crosswise into ~ inch (0.5cm) rounds. Bring small amount of water containing 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add carrot, cook about 2 minutes, and drain. 3. Mix egg well, but lightly, with chopsticks or fork. Do not beat.

4. Bring dashi to boil over high heat. Add salt, soy sauce, and chicken pieces quickly one by one. Reduce heat and boil 2 minutes. Add egg little by little, stirring constantly; the soup must be boiling at this stage. When final egg threads have formed, turn off heat immediately. 5. Place carrot into each soup bowl, and add piping hot soup.