Dashi (Japanese stock)

Ingredients for dashi - Shiitake, Kombu, Niboshi, Katsuobushi clockwise from top: dried shiitake mushrooms, konbu (dried kelp), niboshi (dried baby sardines), katsuo (dried bonito flakes).

Dashi (along with soy sauce, miso, and mirin) is one of the 4 cornerstones of Japanese cooking. Given the simple, understated nature of many Japanese dishes, good dashi is what sets apart bland salty water from a deeply nuanced miso soup.

Instant dashi powder and dashi packet

Most people (both here an in Japan) tend to reach for the instant packets of powdered dashi out of convenience, but a quick look at the list of ingredients will reveal that most of these have loads of salt and MSG. While I’ll admit I do keep some of this stuff around to use in a pinch, I try to avoid it whenever possible.

Another alternative is to use dashi “teabags” that you can find in most japanese grocery stores. These are basically satchels that have been filled with ground up dried fish, kelp and mushrooms that you just drop in a pot of water and steep. These are actually pretty handy when you’re pressed for time and provide a nice well rounded broth, but like packaged salads, there no replacement for sourcing the ingredients yourself.

Unlike making a good chicken stock, dashi can be made with a few ingredients in just a few minutes. Typically dashi is made with some combination of dashi konbu, katsuobushi, niboshi, and sometimes shiitake. The proportions, ingredients and cooking time determine what kind of dashi you’ll end up with. Try varying combinations to see what suits the dish you’re preparing as well as your tastes.

Typically I find that konbu and katsubushi based dashi work better with lighter fare like white miso soups and light soy sauce based stews, while dashi made with niboshi is better suited for dark miso soups, dark soy sauce stews and as a soup stock for Udon noodles.