Dashi
[dah·shee] • Japanese(n.) a clear stock made from kelp and bonito flakes, used in Japanese cooking.
Dashi, which can be traced back to the 8th century, is a cornerstone in Japanese cooking. It’s used as base for many other soups, noodle dishes, and as a simmering liquid or marinade for vegetables, fish and meats to add an umami flavour.
There are three main types of dashi stock:
- Kombu dashi – made from kombu and water
- Katsubushi dashi – made from kombu, bonito flakes and water
- Shitake dashi – made from kombu, dried shitake mushrooms and water (the kombu can be omitted for a vegan option).
Kombu is dried kelp seaweed, and it’s the powdery glutamic acid left on the surface that gives dashi stock much of its sweetness and umami flavour.
Bonito flakes, or katsubushi, are thinly shaved flakes of bonito fish, and give dashi broth its characteristic depth of flavour and ocean-y taste.
Dashi is made by soaking kombu in some water. Boiling kombu can create a bitter stock, so once the kelp has softened, bring it to barely a simmer, removing it once small bubbles begin appearing on the surface. Add the bonito flakes, or dried shitake mushrooms, bring to the boil, then take off the heat and allow to infuse for a couple of minutes before straining.That’s it!
In her cookbook Japanese Home Cooking, Sonoko Saki writes: ‘Dashi is as simple and as easy to make as steeped tea’.
So whip up a batch and then try out these recipes:
The Kitchn’s Miso Soup
Just One Cookbook’s Onsen Tamago
Proportional Plate’s Agedashi Tofu
New Idea Food’s Poached Sea Bream in Dashi Broth
Recipe Tin Japan’s Vegetables Agebitashi
Got any dashi recipes to share with me? Post them below for me!
