Home-made Dashi recipe
Dashi is an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine! It is used in most broths and forms the basis of many traditional Japanese dishes. This aromatic broth, rich in umami flavors, is prepared by infusing natural ingredients such as dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and seaweeds (kombu) in hot water. Dashi can also be found commercially as a ready-to-use powder, which simply needs to be rehydrated with boiling water.
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cooking Time
- 20 minutes
- Servings
- 1L
- Category
- Kitchen
- Japanese dashi
Ingredients
- 1 kombu seaweed leaf
- 20 g katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
- 2-3 shiitakes (cut in 2 for intense flavor)
- 1L water
- How to store your dashi
Directions
- Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth to remove any white residue. Do not rinse to preserve the umami.
- Place the dried shiitake and kombu in a saucepan with 1 liter of cold water. Soak for 1-2 hours (or overnight for a more intense flavor).
- Heat slowly over medium-low heat until the water reaches around 80-90°C (just before boiling).
- Remove the kombu before the water starts boiling to avoid giving your broth a bitter taste.
- Turn off the heat and add the katsuobushi - dried bonito flakes - and leave to infuse for 2-3 minutes, until the bonito flakes fall to the bottom of the pan.
- Remove the shiitake mushrooms once they are well rehydrated and set aside for another use.
- Strain the broth through a fine sieve or clean cloth to remove the katsuobushi. Squeeze lightly to extract maximum flavor.
- Use or store dashi in an airtight container in the refrigerator (2-3 days max).
