is a family of

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

s used in

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese language, Japanese: ) is based on rice with m ...

. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as

umami Umami ( from ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and nucleotides, which are widely present in me ...

. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour base of some grilled foods like okonomiyaki and

takoyaki Takoyaki ( or ) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter (cooking), batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus as food, octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu' ...

Preparation

The most common form of ''dashi'' is a simple broth made by heating water containing ''

kombu ''Konbu'' (from ) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' () or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many civilizations, including Chinese and Icela ...

'' (edible

kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

) and '' kezurikatsuo'' (shavings of '' katsuobushi''—preserved, fermented

skipjack tuna The skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'') is a perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Katsuwonus''. It is also known as katsuo, arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna or victor fish. ...

—or

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

) to near-boiling, then straining the resultant liquid; dried anchovies or sardines may be substituted. Katsuobushi is especially high in sodium inosinate and kombu is especially high in

glutamic acid Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; known as glutamate in its anionic form) is an α- amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can ...

s; combined, they create a synergy of

. Granulated or liquid instant ''dashi'' largely replaced the homemade product in the second half of the 20th century. Homemade ''dashi'' is less popular today, even in Japan. Compared to the taste of homemade ''dashi'', instant ''dashi'' tends to have a stronger, less subtle flavor, due to the use of chemical flavor enhancers— glutamates and ribonucleotides.

Variations

Other kinds of ''dashi'' are made by soaking kelp, niboshi, or

shiitake The shiitake (; ''Chinese/black mushroom'' or ''Lentinula edodes'') is a macrofungus native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed around the globe. Taxonomy The fungus was first described scientifically as '' Agaricus edodes'' by ...

in water for many hours or by heating them in near-boiling water and straining the resulting broth. * ''Kombu dashi'' is made by soaking or gently simmering kelp in water; soaking is traditional and fit for making baby food while simmering is a more modern practice. Kombu dashi becomes bitter and unpalatable when boiled. * ''Niboshi dashi'' is made by pinching off the heads and entrails of small dried sardines (to prevent bitterness) and soaking the rest in water. Sometimes the heads are used as not everyone finds them to be bitter, and the fish are occasionally toasted to evaporate any volatile unpleasant fishy odors. * ''Shiitake dashi'' is made by soaking dried shiitake mushrooms in water. Dried shiitake is preferred over fresh due to a stronger presence of savory or umami flavors.

Preparation

Variations

See also

References

Further reading