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Dashi broth in a bowl with dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu and bonito flakes.

Dashi

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  • Author: Emily Toshiko
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 8 cups 1x
  • Category: Soup

Description

Dashi is a unique broth made from bonito flakes and kombu. It is a key ingredient in Japanese cooking.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 9 cups cold water
  • 2-4 cups of bonito flakes (add more bonito to strengthen flavor)
  • 1 4-inch by 4-inch piece of dried kombu
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms (optional-see note)

Instructions

  1. Place dried kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms (optional) in a saucepan with cold water and turn to high heat. Immediately before the water comes to a boil, remove the kombu and set it aside for second dashi.
  2. Stir in the bonito flakes and bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water boils turn the heat off and let it sit for 2 minutes.
  3. Strain broth through a fine mesh strainer (or cheesecloth for extra clarity) and set aside to cool. Save the bonito and shiitake for second dashi.

Second Dashi:

  1. While first dashi is cooling, add the used kombu, bonito, shiitake (if using) and 4 ½ cups of water to the saucepan.
  2. Bring the water to a boil then drop the heat to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Strain the broth again and discard the kombu and bonito. Save shiitake in refrigerator for other meals. Ta-Da! That’s all there is to it.

Notes

  • Dried kombu is difficult to measure because it is rolled up. I generally use my pointer finger to roughly measure a piece.
    I often add dried shiitake mushrooms to my both because I love their extra pop of flavor. I usually use shiitake when I know the dashi will be used in a dish with shiitake mushrooms as an ingredient