How To Make Dashi (The Ultimate Guide)

Dashi (だし, 出汁) or Dashijiru (出し汁) is Japanese soup stock that is the backbone of many Japanese dishes. It is all-important and ... Skiptocontent About StartHere Pantry Culture Travel Cookbooks Shop Login Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter Youtube Searchfor SearchSubmit Ad-Free MakeAheadStockUnder30MinutesThispostmaycontainaffiliatelinks.Pleasereadmy disclosurepolicyfordetails.AsanAmazonAssociate,Iearnfromqualifyingpurchases. ThisistheultimateguidetoDashi,Japanesesoupstock.You’lllearnaboutthedifferenttypesofdashi,theingredients,andhoweachstockisusedinJapanesecooking. WhatisDashi? Dashi(だし,出汁)orDashijiru(出し汁)isJapanesesoupstockthatisthebackboneofmanyJapanesedishes.Itisall-importantandindispensable,andyoucantraceitsexistenceinJapanesedailycookingbacktotheEdoperiod(17thCentury). Unlikesoupstocksfromothercuisines,whicharetypicallymadebyboilinganassortmentofmeat,vegetables,herbs,andspicesforseveralhours,dashiusuallycontains onlyoneortwoingredients,andpreparationtakesjust20minutes.Yet,dashigivesJapanesefooditsunique,rich,umami-packedsavoryflavor. TheJapanesesoupstockisoftenmadefrom: Kombu (driedkelp)* Katsuobushi (driedbonitoflakes) Iriko or niboshi (driedanchovies/sardines) Shiitake(driedshiitakemushrooms)* ORa combination ofallaboveortwo(suchaskombu+katsuobushi) *vegetarianandvegan Fromtopleftinclockwise:driedkelp,driedshiitakemushrooms,anchovies,anddriedbonitoflakes. HowDoesDashiTasteLike? AllthedriedingredientsthatareusedtomakeJapanesesoupstockarerichinnaturallyoccurringglutamatesandprovideintenseflavortothestock.Dashicreatesasavoryumamiflavorfromalltheseingredientsandyoudon’tneedtoseasonthefoodasmuchonceyouhaveagoodstock. Withadistinctivesweetandsavorynote,thedeepumamiflavoriswhatsetdashiapartfromotherstocks. HowDoYouUseDashiinCooking? ThemostcommonuseforJapanesesoupstockisinabowlofdeliciousmisosoup,thesoupforthesoulfortheJapanese.IfyouwishtomakeabowlofauthenticJapanesemisosoup,Istronglyencourageyoutousedashiinsteadofsubstitutingitwithotherbrothssuchasvegetableorchickenbroth.Youwillnoticethedifferencerightaway! Dashiisalsobeingusedasa brothbase inJapanesehotpots(e.g.,ShabuShabu),stews(e.g., Oden),simmereddishes(e.g.,Nikujaga),andnoodlesoupdishes(e.g.,udon,soba,andramen). Youcanalsouseitasa seasoningliquid (e.g,Tamagoyaki, TakikomiGohan,andTakoyaki)oraddittosaucestobringoutthesavorydepthofthedishes.Sinceitisaclearumami-richbrothwithasubtlearoma,dashiisreallyversatileandyoucanliterallyuseitinanydishesthatcallforatouchofliquid.  DashiGuideIndex Byclickingthelinkbelow,youcanjumptoeachtopiccoveredinthispost. DifferentTypesofDashi AwaseDashi (seetherecipe) KombuDashi (seethe recipe) KatsuoDashi (seetherecipe) IrikoDashi (seetherecipe) ShiitakeDashi (seetherecipe) 3WaystoMakeDashi MakeitfromScratch UseDashiPacket (seetherecipe) UseDashiPowder (seetherecipe) WatchHowtoMakeDashi (seethevideo) DifferentTypesofDashi Alotofpeoplethinkdashiismadeoffish,sovegetariansandveganscan’tuseit.No,that’snottrue. Thereare5differenttypesofdashiandI’llintroducethemhere.Howdowedecidewhichstocktouseforaparticulardish?Well, thereisnoruleandit’suptoyou.Below,Iaddedsomeexamplesofdishesthatgowellwitheachtypeofdashi. 1.(Awase)Dashi 合わせだし Acombinationofkombu (driedkelp)and katsuobushi (driedbonitoflakes). Themostcommon,all-purposeseafoodbasedstock(andthisismygo-tostock). Awase means“combination”or“mixed”inJapanese. Thisismygo-todashiformyrecipes Thisstockisgoodfor: MisoSoup Oyakodon Oden Nikujaga Chikuzenni Tamagoyaki,etc. RECIPE:Tomakeitfromscratch,checkout HowToMake(Awase)Dashi. 2.KombuDashi昆布だし Thevegetarian/vegan stockmadefromkombu(driedkelp). Gentleflavor. It’sprobablytheeasieststocktomake. Thisstockisgoodfor: Yudofu ClamSoup ShabuShabu VegetableOhitashi Usewhentheflavorofotheringredientsaresubtleandwhenthemainingredientisfishorseafood. RECIPE:Tomakeitfromscratch,checkout HowToMakeKombu Dashi. 3.KatsuoDashi かつおだし Theseafoodbasedstockmadefromkatsuobushi (driedandfermentedskipjacktuna/bonitothatisshavedintothinflakes). Aromatic,flavorful,andelegant. Thisstockisgoodfor: ClearSoup Chawanmushi VegetableOhitashi Noodlesoupdishes(e.g.,OkinawaSoba) Simmereddishes Greatforvegetables,butnotrecommendedforfishdishes RECIPE:Tomakeitfromscratch,checkout HowToMakeKatsuoDashi. 4.IrikoDashi (NiboshiDashi)いりこだし・煮干しだし Theseafoodbasedstockmadefromiriko/niboshi (driedbabyanchovies/sardines). Strongfishyaromaandtaste. Mostaffordable comparedtokombuandkatsuobushi. Thisstockisgoodfor: MisoSoup (mostcommonlyused) Noodlesoupdishes(CurryUdon, KitsuneUdon,etc)andMentsuyu Donburi(ricebowl)dishes Simmereddishes(SimmeredKabocha) Usewhenyouwantanicesavorystocktogowithotherstrongdistinctflavorsorseasoninglikesoysauce,butdon’tuseittocookfishbecausetheoverallresultcouldcomeouttoostrong. RECIPE:Tomakeitfromscratch,checkout HowToMakeIriko Dashi. 5.ShiitakeDashi干し椎茸の戻し汁・椎茸だし Thevegetarian/veganstockmadefromrehydratingdriedshiitakemushrooms. Rehydratedshiitakeisusedforcooking. Thesoakingliquid(ShiitakeDashi)israrelyusedasitsownandusuallycombinedwithKombuDashiorKatsuoDashitoenhancetheflavor. Thisstockisgoodfor: TakikomiGohan Chawanmushi Noodlesoupdishes(NabeyakiUdon,etc) Simmereddishes(Chikuzenni) Stir-frieddishes Chinesestyledishes(Harumaki) SteamedFish RECIPE:Tomakeitfromscratch,checkout HowToMake ShiitakeDashi. 3WaystoMakeDashi Dependingonyourtimeandneed,youcandecidehowtomakeJapanesesoupstockfromthefollowingthreeways.I’llstartfromthemosttime-consumingmethod(butonly20minutes!)totheinstantmethod. Method1:MakeDashifromScratch Onceyoudecidewhatingredient(s)youwanttouseforyourdashi,pleaseclickthelinktogettherecipe. Kombu (driedkelp) + Katsuobushi (driedbonitoflakes)→ AwaseDashi Kombu (driedkelp) → KombuDashi Katsuobushi (driedbonitoflakes) →KatsuoDashi Iriko or niboshi (driedanchovies/sardines) → IrikoDashi Driedshiitakemushrooms → ShiitakeDashi Ifyouarenotsure,gowithAwaseDashi.Ifyou’revegetarians/vegans,gowithKombuDashi. Don’tforgetto Method2:DashiPacket(Shortcut) Thisisthemostconvenientmethodwhichproducesprettyflavorfulsoupstock.OnedrawbackisthatthesedashipacketsmightbehardtofindinAsiangrocerystores.YourlocalJapanesegrocerystoresshouldcarryoneorseveralbrands. *DashipacketaboveisJapan’smostpopular KayanoyaDashiPacket (MSG-free&additive-free!)(abitpricy;Amazon). YoumayalsofindYamakiDashiPacketinJapanesegrocerystores(or Amazon). RECIPE: Tomakedashiusingdashipacket, checkoutDashiPacket&Recipe. Method3:DashiPowder (Shortcut) Ifyouwanttomakeabowlofmisosoup,instantdashipowdercanbeveryconvenientandsavealotofyourtime.Themostcommonlyknownproductsare Hondashi(ほんだし)and Dashinomoto(だしの素),whichyoucanfindinAsianorevenAmericangrocerystores. However,Istronglyrecommend MSG-free&additive-freeDashiPowder that’savailableatJapanesegrocerystoresorAmazon. RECIPE: Tomakedashiusingdashipowder, checkoutDashiPowder&Recipe. WatchHowtoMakeDashi(TheUltimateDashiGuide) ThisistheultimateguidetoDashi,Japanesesoupstock.You’lllearnaboutthedifferenttypesofdashi,theingredients,andhoweachstockisusedinJapanesecooking. Ihopethisultimatedashiguidewashelpful.DidyoufigureoutwhichJapanesesoupstockyouwanttouseforyournextmeal? WishtolearnmoreaboutJapanesecooking? Signupforour free newsletter toreceivecookingtips&recipe updates!And stayintouchwithmeon Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube,and Instagram. Editor’sNote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedonJanuary4,2011.Theimages,video,andthecontenthavebeenupdated,andthecommentformisopeninMay2019.   6EssentialJapaneseCondimentsHomemadeIngredientMakeAheadStockUnder30MinutesUnder5IngredientsVideo YouMightAlsoLike HomemadeMisoSoup味噌汁 15FavoriteJapaneseHotPots,Soups&Stews 12Easy&HealthyJapaneseRecipes 5EasyJapaneseRecipestoCookAtHome MeettheAuthor NamikoChen I'mNami,aJapanesehomecookbasedinSanFrancisco.Havefunexploringthe800+classic&modernJapaneserecipesIsharewithstep-by-stepphotosandHow-ToYouTubevideos. SubscribeNow!5SecretstoJapaneseCooking:SimpleMeals&AuthenticFlavors! SignuptoreceiveourFREEemailseriesonJapanesecookingtipsandweeklynewsletter. Subscribe Notifyof newrepliestomycomments Label RateThisRecipe! RateThisRecipe! Name* Email* Website Label RateThisRecipe! RateThisRecipe! Name* Email* Website 100Comments Newest Oldest MostVoted InlineFeedbacks Viewallcomments LoadMoreComments OurFavorites! 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