Dashi is the backbone of Japanese home cooking and is the go to ingredient in any Japanese household, but what is it and how is it made?
Dashi is a stock that is full of natural glutamates which gives this golden liquid its sweet and savoury umami punch. It forms the backbone to much of Japanese home cooking and is the go to ingredient for many wet dishes such as miso soup, shabu shabu (hot pot), noodle dishes (ramen, udon, soba), Oden (stews), and simmered dishes (Nimono) as well as flavouring for Tamago (egg omelette), Takoyaki (octopus balls) and many sauces. Typically, it doesn't comprise of many ingredients and is quick to make unlike the Escoffier stock purists in the western world where recipes usually comprise of at least four ingredients and take hours of simmering to produce the end result.
There are many varieties of dashi, often varying from home to home and region to region, that have been passed down through families for generations. There are many names for dashi variations with the most popular being Awase (Kombu and fish flakes) that offers a rich and complex flavour. Varieties include but are not limited to:
Kombu Dashi; Stock made with dried Kombu (kelp seaweed) and water.
Katsuo Dashi; Stock made with dried Katsuobushi flakes (dried bonito flakes of tuna) and water.
Ago Dashi; Stock made with dried Ago (flying fish flakes) and water.
Awase Dashi; Stock made with a combination of Kombu, fish flakes (popular fish flake choice is Katsuobushi) and water.
Niboshi Dashi; Stock made using dried baby anchovies or sardines and water.
Shiitake; Stock made by using dried shiitake mushrooms and water.
Hondashi/Dashinomoto; the Oxo of dashi - instant granules which give home cooks convenience that may not deliver the same flavour.
There are Ichiban and Niban dashi's that are typically made from Awase ingredients, so how are they different? First of all, there is "Ichi"-ban meaning number one and "Ni"-ban meaning number two. Ichiban is known as the beginning, therefore using the ingredients for the first time gives an intense umami flavour where the dashi is integral for clarity and clean flavour for clear soups, ramen broths or popular Kaiseki (traditional dining) dishes. Niban dashi is re-using the ingredients from the first batch (Ichiban dashi) to make a second stock that is more delicate in taste with a less intense flavour. This second batch is used in dishes where clarity is not essential or where flavour compliments other ingredients such as a miso soup or stews and marinades. Not all households or restaurants will re-use their ingredients for whatever reason, however, recycling what you have goes further, it reduces waste and demand for fish as well as saving cost.
Our focus is going to be on the popular Awase dashi due to its rich and complex flavour and versatile application. So, how is it made? It is made using three ingredients - Kombu, Katsuobushi, and water. Kombu is nutrient rich dried seaweed with high levels of vitamins and minerals with acclaimed weightloss and anti-ageing properties. Katsuobushi, the dried fermented flakes of bonito tuna, is the most popular choice of fish flake due to its availability and smokey umami flavour.
There is no right or wrong to the art of making this umami laden liquid, some people soak kombu in cold water for different periods of time, some simmer it, and some do a combination of both. Using lower temperatures or soaking before simmering will be to extract the goodness and prevent denaturing the kombu's molecular integrity through boiling as well as preventing bitterness. The same applies to Katsuobushi flakes, when these are boiled the flavour turns bitter which ruins the complexity and flavour of the stock, likely due to oxidation of compounds or volatility at boiling point.
When I was in Kyoto, I attended a home cookery course at the Haru cooking school where my friend Taro taught me to make the perfect dashi for all home cooks.
Couldn't be simpler.
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