Aside from kombu dashi, shiitake dashi is another great option for vegetarians and vegans to make Japanese stock. To make flavorful and intense shiitake dashi, it is as simple as soaking dried shiitake mushrooms in water.
Dashi (Japanese soup stock) is a Japanese soup stock, and it is a fundamental ingredient in many Japanese dishes to create authentic flavor. Today I want to share how to make Shiitake Dashi (干し椎茸の戻し汁/椎茸のだし).
What is Shiitake Dashi?
Shittake Dashi (干し椎茸の戻し汁/椎茸のだし) is the liquid created from re-hydrating dried shiitake mushrooms in water.
As opposed to regular vegetable broth, we use Shiitake Dashi and Kombu Dashi as the only vegetarian and vegan dashi in Japanese cooking. These soup stocks allow you to cook authentic Japanese dishes without sacrificing the flavors.
In this post, I will show you how to re-hydrate dried shiitake mushrooms and make Shiitake Dashi for preparing food.
Shiitake Dashi for Vegetarians and Vegans
Shiitake Dashi is more of a by-product from rehydrating dried shiitake mushrooms with a small amount of water. Since the soaking liquid has good nutrients and flavors, we never throw it away and try to find a good use for it in cooking. We usually combine the liquid with other kinds of dashi to enhance the flavor and add umami; however, we rarely used shiitake dashi as its own.
Since I moved to the US, I learned that a lot of vegetarians and vegans here use diluted shiitake dashi (the soaking liquid) as a vegetarian/vegan-friendly stock in their Japanese cooking.
In Japan, Kombu Dashi is usually the only and most commonly used “vegetarian/vegan dashi” because shiitake dashi has an intense flavor that it could be too strong for subtle Japanese seasonings. However, if you enjoy the deep and rich shiitake dashi flavor, you can definitely use this soaking liquid as dashi to cook Japanese food.
2 Important Tips to Get the Best Flavor from Dried Shiitake Mushrooms:
Good dried shiitake mushrooms are expensive, but the flavors and texture are amazing. Oita prefecture (大分県) in the Kyushu region is known for the best quality dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Buy thick mushrooms with deep white fissures on the cap (more flavor).
- Use cold water to soak dried shiitake mushrooms to slowly bring out the flavor from mushrooms, preferably overnight.
To make shiitake dashi, please note that we can only use dried shiitake mushrooms because fresh shiitake mushrooms do not have the same deep and intense flavors as dried ones.
Make-Ahead Japanese Soup Stock for Vegetarian Cooking
Shiitake dashi stores well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and up to 1 month in the freezer, so you can prepare your stock ahead of time. Whenever you make miso soup or noodle soups, you will always have the dashi in hand.
Here are some vegetarian and vegan-friendly recipes with dashi that you may like to try:
- Vegetarian Ramen
- Vegan Miso Soup
- Spinach Ohitashi (Japanese Spinach Salad)
- Kenchinjiru (clear soup with root vegetables and tofu)
- Kitsune Udon
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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Shiitake Dashi
Video
Ingredients
For Preparing Rehydrated Shiitake Mushrooms
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms (They can be found in Japanese/Asian/Chinese grocery stores. The weight of each dried mushroom varies from 5 grams to 10 grams depending on the size and thickness.)
- ½-⅔ cup water (enough to cover mushrooms)
For Making Shiitake Dashi
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 cups water
Instructions
★ How to Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
- Gather all the ingredients. Check the dried shiitake mushrooms to see if there is any dust or dirt trapped under the gills of the mushrooms. If there is, use a pastry brush to clean it. Do not wash it under water.
- Ideally, you want to make shiitake dashi ahead of time. Place the mushrooms in a mason jar or an airtight container and pour cold water to cover the mushrooms (and wet them). Let them soak in the refrigerator for a few hours or preferably overnight. However, if you are in a hurry, place the mushrooms in a bowl and soak them in warm water (body temperature) for 15 minutes or until softened. Put something heavy on top of the mushrooms so that they will be submerged under warm water and become fully rehydrated.
- When shiitake mushrooms are tender, squeeze to drain, reserving the liquid.
- The rehydrated shiitake mushrooms are ready to use. Remove and discard the tough stem of the mushrooms with a knife. You can use these rehydrated shiitake mushrooms as if you use raw shiitake mushrooms.
- Run the soaking liquid through a fine sieve to catch any dirt or debris, etc. Use the concentrated shiitake dashi for cooking, by adding in the sauce, steaming, seasoning, etc. No wasting!
To Store
- If you plan to save for later, you can store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and 1 month in the freezer.
★ How to Make Shiitake Dashi
- Gather all the ingredients. Check if there are any dust or dirt trapped under the gills of the mushrooms, and if there are, use a pastry brush to clean. Do not wash it under water.
- Soak the shiitake mushrooms in 2 cups water. If you have time, let them soak in the refrigerator for a few hours or preferably overnight. If you’re in a hurry, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes or until softened.
- After soaking for several hours…
- When shiitake mushrooms are tender, squeeze to drain, reserving the liquid.
- Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms are ready to use. Remove and discard the tough stem of the mushrooms with a knife. You can use these rehydrated shiitake mushrooms as if you use raw shiitake mushrooms.
- Run the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and use it for cooking (this is the shiitake dashi).
To Store
- If you plan to save for later, you can store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and 1 month in the freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2015. The images and recipe have been updated in April 2019.
