Dashi is the basic Japanese soup stock used in many Japanese dishes. Learn how to make Awase Dashi at home with umami-packed ingredients like kombu (dried kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes).
When you decide to make Japanese food, you will realize that a lot of recipes require dashi, Japanese soup stock.
With this unfamiliar ingredient, you may think Japanese food is hard to replicate at home. On the contrary, dashi is actually the easiest soup stock anyone can make from scratch as it requires only 1-2 ingredients and 20-minute prep time. This post shows you how you can make Awase Dashi using a combination of ingredients. Once you learn the ins and outs of dashi making, you’ll be ready to tackle Japanese cooking with a breeze.
Table of Contents
What is Dashi?
Dashi (だし, 出汁) is Japanese soup stock that builds the bases for many of your favorite Japanese dishes like miso soup, chawanmushi, ramen, and shabu shabu. It is the essence of authentic Japanese flavor, and it tells the dishes apart if other substitutions are being used in place of the soup stock. And what defines dashi is the use of carefully selected ingredients like kombu, bonito flakes, shiitake mushrooms, and anchovies, and each ingredient is uniquely Japanese.
In general, there are five different types of dashi (two are vegan). Scroll down to see 5 different types or check out my Ultimate Dashi Guide. When we say “dashi” in Japan, it usually implies Awase Dashi because it’s the most commonly used stock.
Awase Dashi (合わせだし) is made from a combination of kombu (dried kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), and it’s the seafood-based stock. *Awase (合わせ) means “to combine”, “mixed”, or “together.”
How to Make All-Purpose Basic Dashi
The First Dashi
The base of Awase Dashi is a vegan Kombu Dashi made from dried kelp. You can cold brew or hot brew kombu to make the dashi. Then you would add dried bonito flakes to the kombu dashi. This makes the stock more enriched. When you make dashi from the spent kombu and katsuobushi, it’s called Ichiban Dashi (一番だし). It’s basically the first pure dashi.
The Second Dashi
Niban Dashi (二番だし), or the second dashi is made from the spent kombu and katsuobushi, which you reserved from making Ichiban Dashi. Niban Dashi is a lighter, less intense dashi, yet still provides a great umami flavor despite the previously used ingredients.
Do we really need to make dashi twice?
At a regular household, we make such a small amount of dashi that it’s not very efficient to make both Ichiban Dashi and Niban Dashi. My suggestion is to make very good Ichiban Dashi and utilize the used kombu and katsuobushi to make Homemade Furikake (rice seasoning) and Kombu Tsukudani (simmered kombu) after collecting enough used kombu and katsuobushi. This way, there will be no waste, and you get another side dish to accompany your meal.
So then who makes Niban Dashi? Japanese restaurants make a huge batch of dashi daily. They use Ichiban Dashi for dishes like Clear Soups (Osumashi おすまし) and Chawanmushi, which require the pure and maximum amount of umami from the dashi ingredients. They typically use Niban Dashi for simmered food (Nimono) and miso soup, which doesn’t require much flavor from the soup stock.
Dashi Shortcut
Sometimes life happens and you just don’t have 20 minutes to make dashi from scratch. On those occasions, you can use Dashi Packet or Dashi Powder.
I love using Kayanoya Dashi Packet (left) and Shimaya Dashi Powder (right). Both are MSG-free and additive-free. You can purchase them at Japanese grocery stores or on Amazon:
The instruction on how to use them (recipes) can be found in the Dashi Packet post and Dashi Powder post.
Easy & Delicious Recipes Using Dashi
The Ultimate Dashi Guide
Dashi plays an important role as a flavor enhancer in Japanese cooking, so you don’t need to season the food with too much salt, fat, and sugar. Rich in minerals and other vitamins, dashi is considered a healthy ingredient in our daily diet.
There are six different types of dashi you can use in Japanese cooking, including vegetarian and vegan dashi (*).
- Awase Dashi – a stock made from a combination of dried kelp + bonito flakes
- Kombu Dashi * – a stock made from dried kelp
- Katsuo Dashi – a stock made from dried bonito flakes
- Iriko Dashi – a stock made from dried anchovies/sardines
- Shiitake Dashi * – a stock made from dried shiitake mushrooms
- Vegan Dashi * – a stock made from dried shiitake mushrooms and kombu
If you are new to different types of dashi, check out my Ultimate Dashi Guide.
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Awase Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (10 g; 4 x 4 inches, 10 x 10 cm per piece)
- 1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (packed; 10 g)
- 4 cups water
Instructions
Before You Start…
- Sometimes life happens and you just don‘t have 20 minutes to make dashi from scratch. On those occasions, you can use a Dashi Packet or Dashi Powder.
- Gather all the ingredients. Most Japanese recipes would say to gently clean the kombu with a damp cloth. However, these days, kombu is quite clean, so just make sure it doesn't have any mold spots and it‘s ready to use. Do not wash or wipe off the white powdery substance, as it has lots of umami.
- Make several slits in 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) to release more flavor.
To Make the Cold Brew Kombu Dashi Ahead of Time (Optional)
- Put 4 cups water and the kombu in a large bottle and let it steep on the counter for 2–3 hours in the summertime and 4–5 hours in the wintertime. You can also cold brew the kombu dashi overnight in the refrigerator.
To Make the Awase Dashi
- Add the kombu and water to a medium saucepan. If you have cold brew Kombu Dashi (previous step), add the Kombu Dashi and hydrated kombu to the saucepan.
- Turn on the heat to medium low and slowly bring to almost boiling, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, clean the dashi by skimming the foam and debris from the surface.
- Just before the dashi starts boiling gently, remove the kombu from the saucepan (discard or repurpose in other recipes—suggestions follow). If you leave the kombu in the saucepan, the dashi will become slimy and bitter.
- Add 1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) and bring it back to a boil again.
- Once the dashi is boiling, reduce the heat, simmer for just 30 seconds, and turn off the heat.
- Let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes.
- Strain the dashi through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl or measuring cup. Reserve the katsuobushi and repurpose it; see the suggested recipes that follow. The Awase Dashi is ready to use.
To Store
- If you are not using the dashi right away, store the dashi in a bottle or mason jar and keep it in the refrigerator for 3–5 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks.
What to do with the spent katsuobushi and kombu?
- Save the spent kombu and katsuobushi in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
- With the spent kombu, you can make Simmered Kombu (Kombu Tsukudani).
- You can also make Homemade Furikake (Rice Seasoning).
Optional: Niban (Second) Dashi
- In a medium saucepan, put 2–4 cups* of water and previously used kombu and katsuobushi from making the first dashi. Bring it to a boil over medium-low heat. *2 cups would make a stronger dashi.
- Remove the kombu just before the liquid comes to a boil, then lower the heat, and cook for 10 minutes, skimming occasionally.
- Add an additional ½ cup (5 grams) of fresh katsuobushi and turn off the heat.
- Let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom and strain the dashi through the fine-mesh sieve.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2013. The images and content have been updated in April 2019.
I noted the Kayanoya Dashi packet ( I thought it was a non powder, as you also listed a powder…)has a few ingredients that are not healthy: maltodextrin, for one which is a GMO product and causes digestive issues… glucose and rice, which are not allowed for me…
Ingredients: Dried Bonito, Maltodextrin, Dried Sardine Extract Powder, Yeast Extract, Salt, Soy Sauce Powder [Soy Sauce (Salt, Wheat, Defatted Soybeans, Soybean, Glucose, Wheat Protein, Rice, Alcohol), Maltodextrin], Fermented Seasoning [Fermented Seasoning (Soybean, Wheat), Starch Hydrolysate, Yeast Extract], Roasted Flying Fish, Dried Round Herring, Dried Kelp
I found another, which was even MORE expensive, but had no maltodextrin in it, nor glucose or rice.
KUHARA Dashi Packet
Ingredients: Flavor Raw Materials (Dried Bonito Flakes, Dried Sardine Extract Powder, Roasted Flying Fish, Dried Round Herring Flakes, Kelp), Starch Hydrolysate, Yeast Extract, Salt, Soy sauce Powder, Fermented Seasoning (Soy, Wheat, Vegetable Starch, Brewer’s Yeast)
As I mentioned, I thought this to be a non powder concentrate (liquid) as you already listed a powder form of dashi.
I did make this, and despite the fact I made it wrong the first time, it is pretty easy. I made it a second time and it went very well. I have been having problems with my mouth, so I needed a healthy, liquid food that has lots of minerals, and protein since it is all I’m eating. I wanted “real” miso soup as I know miso is healthy. Reading up on it, I discovered dashi, so I needed to make it the correct way. I’m glad I did. I added finely chopped onions, garlic granules, fresh ginger, canned mushrooms, sesame seeds and a bit of toasted sesame seed oil, then strained all of it out (saved it to add to quinoa later when I can ‘eat’.) It was SO GOOD!
Thank you for the wonderful, authentic recipe!
Hello Carol! Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post.
We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed the homemade Miso soup. Please note that the Kayanoya Dashi packet, which is linked in the post, is not in powder form. It comes in a small packet that contains the grounded Dashi ingredients. Additionally, the Kayanoya brand is made by Kubara Honke 久原本家. You can find more information about it at https://www.kayanoya.com/en/products/.
We hope this helps!🙂
What kind of Katsuobushi do you use for this? I’m trying to make your miso soup recipe, and the only katsuobushi available on Amazon is Hanakatsuo, which in your Katsuobushi link blog it says that Karebushi is used for miso. Your blog says Hanakatsuo is used more for topping not for dashi boiling.
Hello, Zhuo! Thank you so much for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipe!
We usually use Hanakatsuo for making miso soup.
The Karebushi is one of three types of Katsuobushi, while the Hanakatsuo is a type of shaving.
Please revisit the Katsuobushi post, as we have updated it to make it easier to understand.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/dried-bonito-flakes-katsuobushi/
We hope this helps!
I made this recipe and used it with a pack of instant ramen (please forgive me). I did find that mixing both dashi and the spice pack that came with it made the ramen more salty than usual so i’m thinking either use half the dashi or half the spice pack. But i love the smell and taste of the smoked fish from the bonito flakes.
Hi Matt! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and trying her Dashi recipe!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed the flavor and taste of Dashi.
Nami has a different type of Ramen recipe. We hope you give it a try one day! 😃
https://www.justonecookbook.com/spicy-shoyu-ramen/#search/q=ramen
Thank you for the recipes. If I use the leftover kombu and katsuobishi to make a niban dashi, would they still be flavorful enough to use to make Kombu Tsukudani? Or furikakae? Or would they be too “spent” to have any good flavor?
Hello, Michael. Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipes!
Tuskudani and Furikake can both be made from the Kombu and Katsuobushi used in Niban dashi. If you find it lacking in flavor, you can always add fresh Katsuobushi.😉
We hope this was helpful!