First make the Japanese soup stock, or dashi: In a 4-quart saucepan, combine 3 quarts of water, the kelp, and bonitoflakes and place over medium-low heat.
First, the primary dashi, which functions as this soup's broth, comes together when a pot of water with kombu is boiled and bonitoflakes are tossed in.
Now for what Ms. Schwertner calls the secondary dashi, which serves as the poaching liquid for the halibut: Add the reserved bonitoflakes and kombu to a pot with water and Meyer lemon slices.