Cookbook:Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)


 * Soup | Cuisine of Japan

Dashi is a broth used to make miso soup. When only kelp (konbu) is used, you get kombu-dashi. This is bland, and appears to be unpopular for use in miso soup. A chunk of kelp about 6 inches across might be reasonable for a quart of broth. When sardines or anchovies are also used, you get niboshi-dashi. This seems to be the most popular choice for making miso soup. You might add a bit of sake in this case. About 10 little fish (guppy-sized) per quart of broth should do. When both kelp (konbu) and bonito flakes (katsuo-bushi) are used, you get katsuobushi-dashi. This appears to be the second most popular choice for making miso soup. About 1 cup of bonito flakes per quart of broth should do. At first you produce primary dashi (ichiban-dashi). This is good for clear soups. If you use the solids a second time, you get secondary dashi (niban-dashi). This is good for thick soups and for cooking vegetables.

Ingredients
Any of the following (to taste):
 * Dried konbu (kelp) seaweed (konbu)
 * Clams (asari or shijimi)
 * Dried bonito flakes (katsuo-bushi)
 * Dried mackerel flakes (sababushi)
 * Dried sardines or anchovies (niboshi)
 * Dried shiittake mushroom mushrooms (hoshi-shiitake)


 * Dried young "flying fishes" (飛魚;tobiuo or あご;ago,unique name to Japanese-oceanside.)

Procedure

 * 1) If using sardines or anchovies, remove the heads and intestines. Discard these, keeping the bodies.
 * 2) Boil fish in water, as if you were making tea.
 * 3) Filter the liquid or scoop the solids out of it. The liquid is your dashi.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Both kombu and the fish flakes may be found at most reasonably-sized Asian markets or bought cheaply online
 * Katsuobushi is sold in many forms, including small, single-serving packets and in mesh bags to aid removal. An 80 g bag of the flakes will make about 4L of stock.
 * Most cheap restaurants in Japan and abroad use a powdered mix of salt, MSG, and fish-flavour extract from Ajinomoto, the company whose founder discovered MSG and a Knorr-like presence in Japan. This powdered "instant dashi" is also readily available in the places mentioned above. The recipe provided here will provide a less-salty, deeper-flavoured but similar broth.