NOT Fish Sauce

This is an awesome vegan fish sauce. The specific fishy taste is indeed, umami, and comes from the Kombu, of course : )

30gr shredded Kombu
500ml water
3 fat cloves garlic, crushed but not peeled
½ tsp peppercorns
230ml mushroom soy sauce (alternatively use a few dried shiitake mushrooms)
½ tsp miso paste

Combine Kombu, garlic, peppercorns and water in a large pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer about 40 minutes. Strain and return the liquid back to the pan. Add soy sauce or mushrooms, bring back to a boil and cook until mixture is reduced and almost unbearably salty. Remove from heat and stir in miso.

Poor into a bottle and keep in the fridge.