Excellent! I'll use Sake (which I have quite a lot of) with AS in place of the mirin and I think I will take your advice and give it a try making my own dashi. There are so many variations on how to make it. I think making it with shiitake would be really tasty, but the majority of recipes I've seen are for the type with bonito flakes (this must be the main way to make it).

Thanks again Karen!
Lily