hi! i have a question for all u lovely bento-ers.

all the tamagoki omelets i keep seeing look delicious and i want to make some. problem is, i live in western PA, in the sticks, so i literally have a walmart, giant eagle, friedmans, and an aldis for groceries.

so my question is, are there any alternatives to dashi that i can buy?

its pathetic. the asian foods aisle just contains a million different brands of soy sauce :/ its almost embarassing.

Any good 'how to's on making Dashi?

It seems to be an ingredient in tamago (rolled egg omlet), and I have the flakes (I think).

The instructions seem straightforward, up to 'strain it through cheesecloth', which is always a pain.

Any recommendations on how to make this properly, how much flake to water, etc?