If you’ve enjoyed Japanese cuisine, chances are you’ve encountered two fundamental elements: rice and dashi. While rice is easily recognizable, dashi might be the subtle umami powerhouse you haven’t fully appreciated. This simple stock, often made with seaweed, is central to numerous popular Japanese dishes, especially soups and noodle dipping sauces like soba, udon, and various ramen styles. It even subtly enhances sushi rice and yakitori glazes. Despite the growing popularity of Japanese ingredients such as soy sauce, miso paste, and teriyaki marinade in Western kitchens, dashi often remains overlooked. When acknowledged, it’s sometimes treated with a similar apprehension as veal stock – important and delicious, but best left to professionals.
This perception largely stems from the dedication Japanese chefs have to perfecting their dashi, a journey that can span years. However, it’s essential to approach dashi with a home cook’s mindset. While mastering the intricacies of dashi can be a lifelong pursuit, the basic principles are remarkably simple.
Dashi is also incredibly versatile, lending significant yet subtle flavor to a variety of savory dishes. I use it extensively in miso soup, ramen broth, and tare (dipping sauce). While crucial for Japanese dishes like chawanmushi (savory egg custard) and nimono (simmered dishes), it’s equally useful in Western recipes.
I frequently incorporate dashi into any dish that benefits from a flavorful liquid. Although some purists may disagree, I’ve used dashi as the cooking liquid for polenta, the poaching broth for fish à la nage, or to steam clams for clam sauce. It also serves as an excellent base for fish fumet. While traditional dashi often includes dried fish, delicious vegan alternatives using vegetable stock are readily available.
What Is Dashi, Exactly?
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-10-7359c93019b14740ab0746b6897787ab.jpg)
The term “dashi” often refers to a stock made from kombu (dried seaweed sheets) and katsuobushi (shaved, dried, smoked, and sometimes fermented skipjack tuna or bonito). However, dashi can incorporate other ingredients, such as dried shiitake mushrooms and dried-fish products like niboshi (dried sardines).
While dashi is described as a “stock,” it differs significantly from typical Western stocks. It’s most similar to vegetable stocks and fish fumets, characterized by short cooking times, yet even these are more labor-intensive than typical dashi preparation. Whether made by a Michelin-starred chef or a home cook, the active preparation time is usually minutes, not hours. Although techniques vary considerably, the fundamentals remain the same: infusing water with kombu and katsuobushi (or niboshi and dried shiitakes) flavors, sometimes without any heat.
It’s essential to address some misconceptions about dashi. While many Japanese home cooks use dashi daily, many opt for instant dashi granules from companies like Ajinomoto instead of traditional kombu and bonito flakes. Even those who prepare fresh dashi daily, like my grandmother, often use non-fermented bonito flakes.
The quality range of dashi is comparable to that of Western stocks – consider the difference between bouillon cubes and meticulously prepared, gelatin-rich chicken or veal stock. In top-tier Japanese restaurants (Michelin-starred establishments or those serving kaiseki meals), high-quality kombu (aged for years) and freshly shaved katsuobushi are used.
Why Is Dashi So Important?
Dashi embodies umami, the fifth taste identified in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Chef Kiyomi Mikuni explained that dashi made from kombu and katsuobushi contains glutamic acid (identified by Ikeda) and inosinates (provided by katsuobushi). Research indicates that glutamates and inosinates interact multiplicatively, increasing the flavor intensity eightfold when tasted together. Guanylates, found in shiitake and kinoko mushrooms, have a similar effect when combined with glutamates.*
*For further information, consult the Umami Information Center. Note that this resource is largely provided by the Ajinomoto Corporation.
Therefore, dashi functions as a liquid flavor enhancer made from whole ingredients, making it essential in many Japanese savory dishes. Different cooks have varying approaches to kombu and katsuobushi preparation, so let’s examine them individually.
Kombu
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-4-5d9881d468434dfb8be5e108640be22a.jpg)
Although various kombu species are used in cooking, the method for making dashi from them should theoretically be the same. However, chefs and cooks employ various methods. The Cooking Issues blog found that sealing 10 grams of kombu with one liter of water and heating it at 65°C (149°F) produced the most flavorful dashi. For those without immersion circulators, soaking 10 grams of kombu in one liter of water overnight, then bringing it to a simmer and straining it, is a good alternative. This is a common method in Japanese home kitchens; dried sardines or shiitakes are often added during the cold infusion.
High-end Japanese cuisine employs different techniques. Nihonryori RyuGin, a three-Michelin-star restaurant, soaks kombu in cold water for six hours before removing it without heating. Chef Ivan Orkin soaks kombu for two hours to overnight, then heats the water to 140°F (60°C) before straining. These variations likely reflect differences in kombu quality and intended use.
A quicker method is to place kombu in cold water and bring it to a simmer. While deemed less effective, remember the glutamate and inosinate synergy—the kombu dashi will be enhanced by katsuobushi.
A fundamental rule is to never boil kombu. Boiling results in a bitter flavor that is nearly impossible to mask.
Katsuobushi
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170120170116-dashi-daniel-gritzer-1-6a1608bfe4ab40ea8ee2cfc4a4cd81ea.jpg)
While boiling kombu is universally discouraged, precise temperature guidelines for katsuobushi are less defined. Some chefs steep it for seconds, others for five minutes, and some simmer it. Nihonryori RyuGin steeps it for seven seconds, using thicker flakes shaved from solid blocks with a specialized machine. Because the flavor dissipates quickly after shaving, this freshly shaved katsuobushi is of higher quality.
Chef Mikuni uses whole katsuobushi fillets, adding the shavings to simmering kombu dashi, then turning off the heat and letting them settle for three minutes before straining. Orkin adds his shavings to 176°F (80°C) dashi for three minutes before removing it from the heat and straining.
In my own experiment, I cold-infused 10-gram batches of kombu in 500 milliliters of water for four hours. I then simmered each batch, discarded the kombu, and added 10 grams of katsuobushi flakes.
The first pot was removed from the heat immediately. The second was simmered for five minutes, and the third was boiled for the same duration. After five minutes, I strained all three.
The first tasted as expected, with a clean, oceanic flavor underlying the smoky, fishy taste of katsuobushi. The second had a stronger katsuobushi flavor with faint kombu notes. The boiled dashi tasted only of katsuobushi and was surprisingly salty, with an unpleasant sour, fishy aftertaste. The simmered dashi had a similar aftertaste, while the unboiled dashi left only a vaguely umami flavor.
When used to make miso soup, the boiled dashi soup had the same unpleasant aftertaste. The simmered dashi soup had a slight sourness, while the unboiled dashi soup—my preferred version—left only the flavor of miso.
Ichiban Versus Niban Dashi
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20160320160302-miso-soups-feature-vicky-wasik-4-2-49f132e64c3540bbac342203240797ec.jpg)
It’s important to understand the distinction between ichiban dashi (“first dashi”) and niban dashi (“second dashi”). Ichiban dashi uses fresh kombu and katsuobushi and is prized for its color, clarity, clean flavors, and aroma, mainly used in clear soups. Niban dashi utilizes the same kombu and katsuobushi again and is used as a flavor base in stews, glazes, and sauces where refinement is less critical.
In ramen shops, ichiban dashi forms part of the ramen broth, while niban dashi stews pork or marinates eggs. Home cooks often use ichiban dashi for miso soup and niban dashi for stews or braises. Otherwise, the kombu and bonito flakes are repurposed: kombu can be sliced into salads or used to marinate fish, while bonito flakes can be stewed in soy sauce, sake, and mirin as a rice topping. They can also be discarded.
To make niban dashi, simply simmer the used kombu and katsuobushi in fresh water for 10 minutes. Some cooks add more katsuobushi to improve the flavor before straining again.
Buying Dashi Ingredients
While dashi ingredients may have been challenging to find, today, both kombu and katsuobushi shavings are readily available in the Asian sections of most large grocery stores or online. Here’s a guide to what you’ll find.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-1-53fdf8eae07943a7a8617c7ac9af0efe.jpg)
First, consider instant dashi granules. Those avoiding monosodium glutamate (MSG) should avoid this product, but if MSG isn’t a concern, it’s a convenient option.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-3-f451509c3ecf43ac85be47fa84252fb2.jpg)
Next, explore different kombu varieties, ranging in price and quality. Generally, kombu with more of a powdery, whitish substance on its surface is cheaper. For simple flavor foundations, the cheapest option suffices. But, invest in a pricier package for pristine clear soups.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-6-81daf18817654c899a1d5cbb9f9ab396.jpg)
Finally, consider dried-fish options. Most supermarkets offer small katsuobushi flakes, suitable for dashi or toppings. Larger, wider shavings are typically used for dashi, but can also be used as a topping.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-7-faf74fe93f8345fc9b6692f55eac2df3.jpg)
Thickly shaved katsuobushi, called atsukezuri, is solely for making dashi. It’s ideal for cooks experimenting with clear soups and broths.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-8-1101f786d9594e05a3626a30ce1e425b.jpg)
Packets containing various fushi (dried-fish shavings), like dried bonito, mackerel, and scad, offer stronger, more complex flavors.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20170320170313-dashi-vicky-wasik-2-b4979f3b9de447efbdc83bdb7a4eca7f.jpg)
Dried niboshi (sardines) add another layer of complexity. Traditionally, they’re decapitated and gutted before soaking, but some cooks skip this step.
Bringing It All Together
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/optaboutcomcoeusresourcescontent_migration__serious_eatsseriouseats.comimages20160820160802-oyakodon-4-c962baf925a04ecbb80a8559e4e1c62d.jpg)
Once you have your dashi ingredients, start by making dashi! Then, use it in easy homemade miso soup. You can also use Dashi in an easy homemade miso soup. It’ll be significantly better than anything you’ll get from your local sushi takeout spot. Try your hand at the 15-minute chicken- and egg-laden rice dish called oyakodon, or give its beef-centric cousin, gyudon, a shot.
You don’t have to limit yourself to Japanese dishes. A plain kombu dashi’s subtle flavor is versatile, especially when combined with inosinates or guanylates. Use kombu dashi as a base for chicken stock or to make a more savory vegetable stock, adding mushrooms for extra flavor.
No matter your approach, may it be the first of many.
