The market · Seasonings and ferments · East Asia
Dashi
Japanese stock, most often kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi). Pure umami.
smoky · oceanic
What to do with it
Kenji Hara's Sourdough, 100% ryeDashi would give it depthIbu Sari's Beef rendangDashi would give it depthRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleDashi would give it depthMira Kowalski's Pierogi ruskieDashi would give it depth
JapaneseChawanmushiA savoury egg custard, steamed in a teacup with dashi, and set so softly it barely holds.2 versions here
JapaneseOyakodonChicken and onion simmered in sweet dashi and soy, bound with barely set egg and slid over a bowl of rice.No one here has made it yetJapaneseOkonomiyakiA thick savoury pancake of batter and shredded cabbage with pork belly, cooked on a griddle and finished with sweet-sour sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and bonito flakes.No one here has made it yetJapaneseGōyā chanpurūBitter melon stir-fried with firm tofu, pork and egg — Okinawa's everyday dish, bitter, savoury and soft at once.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Ichiban dashi
- The first, delicate extraction — for clear soups and custards.
- Niban dashi
- A second pass on the same ingredients — for simmering.
- Kombu dashi
- Seaweed only; vegan.
- Instant granules
- Convenient, saltier, flatter.
If you can't find it
Japanese grocers, as granules or tea-bag packs.
- 1Instant dashiFollow the packetYou lose some clarity; most are salted and have MSG — salt last.
- Kombu and dried shiitake, steeped cold overnightYou lose the smoky bonito — but it's vegetarian, and very good.
Goes with
Cooked with, here
How much, here
62–65% of the dish by weight — a place to start.
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Kombu and katsuobushi from Japanese grocers.
- A little history
- Umami itself was named from dashi: the chemist Kikunae Ikeda isolated glutamate from kombu in 1908.
- Worth knowing
- Never boil the kombu — it turns slimy and bitter.