Dashi (出汁) is one of several simple soup stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cooking. The most common form of dashi is a simple broth or stock made by heating kombu (edible kelp) and katsuobushi (flakes of dried bonito) in water and then straining the resultant liquid. Dashi forms the base for miso soup, Japanese noodle broth, and many Japanese simmering liquids. Fresh dashi made from kelp and katsuobushi is rare today, even in Japan. Most people use granulated or liquid instant substitutes. One course of a multi course Kaiseki meal, showing a careful arrangement of the foods There are many views of what is fundamental to Japanese cuisine. ... Broth is a liquid in which meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmered and strained out. ... Kombu or konbu (Japanese: 昆布), also called dashima (Korean), or haidai (Chinese: 海带; pinyin: ), are edible kelp widely eaten in Northeast Asia. ... Families Alariaceae Chordaceae Laminariaceae Lessoniaceae Phyllariaceae Pseudochordaceae Kelp are large seaweeds, belonging to the brown algae and classified in the order Laminariales. ... Katsuobushi (鰹節; かつおぶし) (Chinese: 柴魚; chai2 yu2; lit. ... Binomial name Katsuwonus pelamis Linnaeus, 1758 Skipjack tuna is medium-sized perciform. ... Water (from the Old English word waeter; c. ... Miso soup (味噌汁, misoshiru in Japanese) is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called dashi into which is dissolved softened miso. ...

Other kinds of dashi stock are made by soaking kelp, shiitake, or niboshi in water for many hours or heating them in water nearly to boiling and then straining the resultant broth. Kelp stock or konbu dashi is made by soaking kelp, or sea tangle, in water. Shiitake dashi stock is made by soaking dried shiitake mushrooms in water. Niboshi dashi stock is made by soaking small dried sardines (after pinching off their heads and entrails) in water. Shiitake mushrooms The shiitake mushroom (Japanese: 椎茸; Chinese: 香菇; pinyin: ) (Lentinus edodes or Lentinula edodes), more rarely called the black forest mushroom, is an edible mushroom typically cultivated on the shii tree (Pasania cuspidata — a relative of the oak). ... Niboshi (煮干し) are Japanese dried baby sardines (sometimes translated as anchovies). ... Shiitake mushrooms The shiitake mushroom (Japanese: 椎茸; Chinese: 香菇; pinyin: ) (Lentinus edodes or Lentinula edodes), more rarely called the black forest mushroom, is an edible mushroom typically cultivated on the shii tree (Pasania cuspidata — a relative of the oak). ... Sardines or pilchards are a group of several types of small oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. ...

Other important Japanese flavors include shoyu, mirin, rice vinegar, miso, and sake. Soy sauce (US) or soya sauce is a fermented sauce made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain, water and salt. ... Mirin (味醂) is an essential condiment of the Japanese cuisine with a slightly sweet taste. ... Rice vinegar is made from fermented rice or rice wine in China and Japan. ... Miso (Japanese: 味噌) is a thick paste similar to doenjang made by fermenting soybeans with kōji (麹, Aspergillus oryzae) and sea salt. ... Sake barrels at Itsukushima Shrine Sake (é…’; pronounced IPA: SAH-KEH in Japanese, but often IPA: SAH-ki by English speakers) is a Japanese alcoholic beverage, brewed from rice. ...

External links

• Dashi Recipe. Brad Harvey, Whats4Eats.com. URL accessed on Feb 12, 2006.