Tokyo Style Zoni (Mochi Soup)

Zoni is mochi (rice cake) soup commonly eaten on New Year holidays.
Ingredients and cooking method of zoni differ from region to region.
This time, I show you Tokyo style zoni.
We place toasted mochi in small bowls and pour soy sauce tasted clear hot soup.

Ingredients ( for 4 )
-----for making dashi (soup stock)-----
5 cups ( 1 liter) water
10 g kombu (kelp) , wiped with damped kitchen towel
20 g katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
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4 blocks mochi
150 g boneless chicken thighs , cut into bite size and blanched in boiling water
150 g komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) , washed
(you can cook spinach instead)
8 slices kamaboko (steamed fish paste)
a tablespoon soy sauce
a tablespoon sake

Direction
-----(making dashi soup stock)-----
Bring the kombu and water to a saucepan.
Heat them at medium heat.
Remove kombu just before the water comes to a boil.
When the water comes to a boil , stop heating.
Add the katsuobushi to the water and restart heating.
When the water returns to a boil, stop heating.
Wait until katsuobushi start to sink.
Strain contents of the pan with kitchen paper , and reserve the liquid.
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Boil the komatsuna in boiling water with a pinch of salt.
Put the komatsuna in cold water too cool.
Squeeze out excess water from the komatsuna and cut into 4 cm length.
Heat the dashi at medium heat in a saucepan.
Add the chicken thighs to the dashi.
When the dashi comes to a boil, turn the heat to low.
Add the soy sauce and sake to the dashi.
Simmer them until the chicken thighs are cooked.
Toast the mochi with a oven toaster(or pan-fry with a non-stick pan without cooking oil) until the mochi puff up.
Place the mochi,chicken,komatsuna,kamaboko on each small bowls, and pour the soup on them.