What Is Dashi?

What if there was a soup, a broth, a life-nourishing hot liquid that had the complexity of a slow-cooked soup but only needed to simmer for a few minutes? Welcome to the world dashi! But what is dashi? What is dashi stock? What is dashi powder? What is in dashi? Let’s get the dish on dashi!

What is dashi stock?

Dashi is an extremely versatile stock used in Japanese cooking. Dashi can be used as a base for miso soup, a number of clear broth soups, noodle soups, and even mixed in flour for fried or grilled foods like okonomiyaki and takoyaki. 

You remember that Simpsons episode where Lisa becomes a vegetarian and Homer asks if she’ll ever eat bacon, ham, or pork chops, and she says those are all from the same animal and Homer is like, “Sure Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.” Well, with dashi’s versatility, it is a lot like that animal.

What is in dashi?

For all the complex umami layers present in dashi, it is surprisingly simple to make. All you need to do to make a basic dashi is boil some kombu and katsuobushi in some water for around 15 minutes. 

Okay, you’re probably wondering, “What is kombu? What is katsuobushi? And what is water?” Kombu is kelp seaweed. Katsuobushi is bonito flakes—dried and shaved fish flakes. And water is hydrogen and oxygen. Dashi broth can also include shiitake mushrooms and small dried fish called niboshi. Boiling a combination of these ingredients together for only a few minutes will produce dashi stock. That stock can then be used as the base for different broths. 

What is dashi powder? What are dashi granules? 

If you don’t want to spend a few minutes boiling ingredients or hours tracking down kombu, katsuobushi, shiitake, and niboshi to make a real dashi stock, there is a quicker way to make dashi. You can buy some instant dashi! 

Dashi powder and dashi granules are basically different forms of instant dashi. In both cases, dashi is freeze dried into granules or ground into powder. Just dissolve the dashi granules or dashi powder into some hot water and enjoy your dashi. 

What is shiro dashi? 

There is another kind of dashi out there that is a little different. That is shiro dashi. Shiro dashi is dashi that is combined with white soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Shiro dashi is very light colored and can be used to infuse a deep umami flavor without changing the color of the food.

What does dashi taste like?

Dashi tastes like Japanese cuisine. It tastes like the essence of Japanese cooking. What, is that not descriptive enough for you? Okay, fine. Dashi tastes like straight up umami. That rich seaweed and fishy essence imparts a deeply savory flavor.