Lobsters are available all year round but it seems like now, the middle of May, is the season of them from the fact I can find a stack of big lobsters at a local fish market.
The basic Japanese soup stock is made with dried fish, sea weed or mushrooms. As dried bonito (katuobusi 鰹節) is most appreciated, it is expensive and needs a big bulk of it to make flavorful stock. Instead of this poor cost performance bonito flakes, I usually use dried small anchovies.
Do not even think about using canned chopped clams or bottled clam juice. Go for live clams.
Do you like a bowl of miso soup served at a sushi bar? Miso soup does not always have to be with tiny cubes of tofu and scallion. This hearty pork soup called Buta-jiru （豚汁） is everyone’s winter favorite in Japan.
When you use chicken thigh and bone by yourself, you might have discard the bones. But you can actually make nice stock by using it.
