Cooking Japanese: How To Make Dashi Soup Stock

Dashi is a simple broth made from sea kelp and bonito flakes. It is used in classic dishes like miso soup — it's an essential staple of Japanese kitchens and one of the easiest soup stocks to make. Since it's so easy and quick, most Japanese cooks make it when they need it, rather than making a batch ahead and freezing it. Here is how to make it yourself.

One can find powdered dashi mix in Asian grocery stores, but it's worth it to make your own from scratch. Trust us, it's ridiculously easy.

To make dashi, you'll need to find two ingredients: kombu, which is dried sea kelp, and shaved bonito, which is shaved fish flakes. You can find these at your local Japanese grocery, or online. Both ingredients come in convenient packages.

Basic Dashi Soup Stock
2 1/2 quarts water
1 3-inch square of kombu
3/4 cup shaved bonito

Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, drop in the kombu. Bring the water back to a boil for a few minutes, and then remove the kombu. Add the bonito, and turn off the heat and let the stock cool. Strain the stock through a chinois or fine strainer and use in recipes. If you don't use all the stock, it can keep in the refrigerator for a few days, tightly covered.

And that's it!

Dashi can be used as a base for miso soup, noodle dishes, and other Japanese dishes.

Recipe originally published July 28, 2008.

(Image: Kathryn Hill)

Comments (10)

And if you're vegetarian, just skip the bonito. Japanese people usually refer to the bonito-free version as kombu dashi, while calling the bonito version just dashi.

adding the kombu once it's boiling is somewhat incorrect. start with a cold pot of water, add the kombu, and let it soak for anywhere between 10 minutes and 2 hours. then heat the water (and kombu), and just before it boils, that's when you remove the kombu. bring it up to a boil, kill the heat and add the bonito flakes.

sidenote: i've made my own dashi plenty of times, but when i need some quickly, i reach for the instant dashi granules. they're really easy to use, and although they may not taste quite as good as your own handmade stuff, they'll do fine.

If you're shopping for the ingredients at an Asian grocery, the bonito package might be labeled "katsuobushi." On the other hand, the kombu might be labeled "kelp." Be sure to wipe off the kombu with a damp towel before you get started.

i read an old weight watchers magazine my mum got at the library and she showed me an article about Japanese dishes and it had a recipe for dashi and said you could put it in ice cube trays and freeze them and get one out when you are cooking!

I have yet to try it but it sounds like a good idea if you are spending a week making lots of Japanese dishes. :)

You can certainly freeze dashi in ice cube trays, but I usually use a lot more at a time than that. A few cubes in the freezer for those recipes that don't need much is good, but I usually use it by the quart.

What does dashi taste like? When I made dashi before using all of these ingredients and similar method my dashi came out tasting like water. I felt like I wasted a packet of bonito flakes. :(

I recently received the cookbook Everyday Harumi and have made dashi several times--so easy and totally worth it. As an aside, the recipes in the cookbook have also been great.

Great post!
Def gonna use this to make miso soup, but bonito-free.

If you're looking for some authentic Japanese recipes which incorporate dashi, the 'cooking with dog' youtube videos are cute and easy to follow. I admit I haven't had a kitchen to cook in since discovering this Japanese home cook's channel, but I've learned a great deal about Japanese home cooking by watching her.
http://www.youtube.com/user/cookingwithdog

Kombu supposedly becomes slimy and bitter if overcooked. Most of the recipes I've seen call for it to be heated from cold and removed at around 170 degrees (just when the bubbles start to appear on the bottom of the pan). I'm sure it won't matter a lot but it is a very delicate broth.