Today’s recipe is back to the basics. When you decide to make Japanese food, you will realize that a lot of recipes require dashi. With this unfamiliar ingredient, you may think it’s not easy to cook Japanese food. However, it’s very simple, quick and easy to make dashi from scratch, and you will be well equipped to make more delicious Japanese food after this post (I hope!).
Dashi is Japanese stock, and it is a fundamental ingredient in many Japanese dishes. Dashi is made from kombu (kelp), bonito flakes (dried and smoked skipjack tuna that is shaved into thin flakes), sardine (iriko or niboshi), or a combination of all or two of them. Dashi provides great umami from all these ingredients and you don’t need to season the food much if you have good dashi.
The dashi that I’m sharing today is the most common seafood based stock called Awase Dashi: a combination of kombu and bonito flakes. Although the preparation may be slightly different for each family and restaurant, the basic principle is pretty much the same.
I have an existing HOW TO Page where I share many tips and techniques that I use for cooking, including How To Make Dashi. Please note that today’s recipe is an updated version of the page as I improved the recipe.
Next week I will be sharing Vegetarian Dashi recipe. I hope today’s post will help you become more familiar with Japanese culinary adventure.
Ingredients:
- 0.7 oz (20 g) dashi kombu
- 2 cups (30 g) loosely packed bonito flakes (Hana Katsuo or Katsuobushi)
- 4 cups (1000 ml) water (or 8 cups - see Note)
- A sieve
- Paper towel
Instructions:
- Gently clean the dashi kombu with a damp cloth but leave the white powdery substances which contribute to the umami flavor in dashi. Do not wash the kombu!
- Make a couple of slits on the kombu.
- In a medium pot, put the kombu and water. If you have time, soak for 3 hours or up to half day. Kombu’s flavor comes out naturally from soaking in water. If you don’t have time, skip this process.
- Heat up the pot slowly on medium low heat. It will take 20-25 minutes to a boil. Meanwhile, clean the dashi by skimming the surface.
- Just before the dashi starts boiling (you will see bubbles on the bottom of the pan), remove the kombu and keep it for "Niban Dashi" (see Note). If you leave the kombu inside, the dashi will become slimy and bitter.
- Either turn off the heat or add a little bit of water to let the dashi cool down a bit.
- Add bonito flakes in the dashi and bring it to a boil again. Continue skimming.
- Once the dashi is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 seconds (not minutes!). Continue skimming and then turn off the heat.
- Let the bonito flakes sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes.
- Line the sieve with paper towel (cheese cloth/linen cloth) and set over a large bowl. Strain the dashi through the sieve.
- Gently twist and squeeze the paper towel to release the extra dashi into the bowl. Keep bonito flakes for "Niban Dashi" (see Note).
- If you are not using the dashi right away, save it in a bottle and keep in the refrigerator for 3-7 days or in the freezer for 3 weeks.
Notes
I use this recipe whenever I need good quality dashi to get intense flavor.
For my daily use, I replace 4 cups of water with 8 cups. I use dashi for some dishes and the leftover goes to miso soup. I usually finish the dashi in 2-3 days.
*********
"Niban Dashi": It means second dashi and it is light dashi using leftover kombu and bonito flakes from "Ichiban Dashi" you just made.
1. In a pot, put 4 cups of water and leftover kombu and bonito flakes used in Ichiban Dashi and bring it to a boil over high heat.
2. Lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes while skimming.
3. Add additional .18 oz (5 grams) of bonito flakes and turn off the heat.
4. Let the bonito flakes sink to the bottom and strain the dashi through the sieve.
Hi, I'm Nami. Thanks for stopping by Just One Cookbook. You can read little bit more about me 
{ 95 comments… read them below or add one }
I love dashi.
How long can you keep it in the fridge ?
It’s 4-7 days but I’d recommend to use it in 3 days.
Yes! Thanks Nami. I can cook all things American, including even some Italian and a some French recipes, but Japanese is so intimidating for me. This is just perfect for a beginner like myself. Thanks for sharing!
Nami, this is fantastic. I usually make really basic stocks, but nothing compared to this level of complexity. Thanks to Jap grocers here, and I am sure I will be able to find these ingredients. However, I have never used Dashi stock before. What soups would you recommend? I was thinking something along the lines of seafood? I LOVE Jap food but seriously can’t cook this cuisine
. Hope all is well!! ♥ ♥ Jo
Such a basic but delicious Japanese stock my friend, thank you
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I’ve read recipes for making dashi stock before but this is great … simple instructions and the pictures are crystal clear.
You make it look so easy. I have no luck with Asian food…I blame my stove. I will have to get over my fear and try cooking some of these amazing foods you post. Love your photos.
Nazneen
Fantastic post! I Love homemade dashi, so easy and give so much flavor!
and all the while i thought ‘dashi’ came in powdered-form … something to sprinkle over scrambled eggs … ?
Yes, there are many different kinds and brands of powder dashi available. I mentioned about it in my How To Make Dashi Page here:
http://justonecookbook.com/blog/how-to/how-to-make-dashi-jiru/
Hope this helps.
I see dashi in a lot of recipes so I love that you showed us how to make it. It’s looks great.
Looking forward to checking out the vegetarian version too. 
I like this
I love the dashi we are served at Japanese restaurants & now glad you taught us how to make it at home. Love to hear you talk about ‘umami’, the special flavor! Did you know I have a friend in Manila who wrote a book on ‘umami’ in collaboration with a Japanese food company? What a terrific topic! Thanks for sharing this recipe, Nami!
Love this! I”ve used instant dashi but that does not seem like a good thing to do!!I don’t think I can get it in town right now anyway. I love making miso soup so this will be so nice!! I am quite interested in the veggie dashi too! Thanks once again, Nami!
Thanks for sharing this. Looks easy to do!
I love this broth…so tasty! Thanks for the recipe Nami…have a great week!
Awesome! I love these basics. Is it OK to use rice wine instead of rice wine vinegar for sushi rice?
Thanks for checking How To Make Sushi Rice page, Belinda! Rice wine is not vinegar, so rice vinegar is absolutely necessary for making authentic sushi rice. Different kinds of vinegar won’t work for sushi. Hope this helps.
Wow, the color is just gorgeous! I never knew what dashi was made of until this post…thanks for sharing the basics, Nami!
I remember when we cooked from Japan a while back that a lot of recipes called for dashi. I wish I would have known your site back then! Perhaps we’ll just have to redo some of the recipes and give this a try. I love your detailed how-to’s. They make things that would otherwise seem difficult, not so intimidating.
Wow!!! I have a lot of kombu at home (left over from our Sushi Sunday) and this would be a great thing to make using them.
Now, all I have to find is a cheese cloth…I don’t know where to find that here in HK! 
Thanks for sharing Nami!! I always look forward to your shared recipes. 
Hi Lorely! You don’t need a cheese cloth if you have paper towel (which I always use). Thank you for your kind comment! xo
Thanks Nami, I love the taste of dashi in Japanese food, but never made it from scratch.
brilliant as always! I have always wanted to learn and this step by step is soooo convenient, Nami. Arigato’
What a useful tutorial! Thank you so much!
The reason I seldom cook Japanese food is because my pantry is lack of basic Japanese ingredients. Looks like I should start by making dashi – which means I need to stock up on kombu and bonito flakes soon.
Your stock looks so flavorful, Nami!
Wonderful Tutorial Nami.
This is going to be so helpful. I will try making dashi at home .. have bought ready made one till now.
Love this! I had no idea dashi was so doable to make right at home!
Nami, you can never really stress the importance of mastering the basics enough! I am glad that the few ingredientsrequired for the preparation of Dashi are available at my Asian market and although I have made Dashi before, I will certainly make it again using your recipe – I am trying to work on my Japanese cooking skills and with your more than helpful recipes, I am sure that I will be able to hone my cooking skills. Love the color of that clean and “pure” stock and I particularly enjoyed the photography today.
It’s really that simple? I always thought it involved a complicated cooking method or some very exotic ingredients, but I am glad that its that easy. Thank you for sharing your step by step pictures, they are going to come very handy Nami!
I just made dashi last week, it does make everything taste so much better esp soups.
This is fascinating Nami. You’ve described how to make this so well and the uses for it. It’s always so much nicer to be able to make foods from scratch that get used often rather than purchasing them. Great detailed instructions, you make it all look quite simple. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Nami
I loves Japanese food but I am no good in cooking it but I can always come to you for tips and reference. And I am lucky too that I can browse thru your tutorial pics.
So great to see Japanese cuisine broken down like this. It really makes it easy for home cooks to give it a go. This one has been bookmarked for one weekend.
i’ve been meaning to make dashi for the dipping sauce for zaru soba.. but never gotten round to it ^^|| even with all the ingredients ready! gotta check if they are still usable. thanks for sharing this.. and a zaru soba recipe in 2011 too ^^
Thanks for supplying a recipe for dashi. I’ve hear of it but have never made it. xx
Great recipe Nami , dashi is so versatile
Your dashi has an amazing colour! Mine is never so beautifully yellow! Anyway, I couldn’t live without home-made dashi. I have been making it for at least a year and when I recently tasted instant one, I couldn’t believe how different it was from mine.
I also make niban dashi (but apart from the “old” I add some new katsuobushi to the second dashi too) and I keep both for about 4 days in the fridge. I think it starts getting sour after a week only, if I keep in the coldest part of the fridge…
Sissi, this is for GOOD dashi. I normally double the water (8 cups) for my daily use, so it’s less yellow. Still very good though.
Yeah instant one is okay if you need only a bit of dashi flavor, but I wouldn’t recommend for something that requires good dashi flavor like Miso Soup, Chawanmushi, Nimono…etc. 
I had no idea dashi was so simple. Thanks Nami!
Great post Nami and it looks so easy. I guess it would keep a good month in freezer, would it not?
Yes, up to 3 weeks or so, but I always recommend to use it soon because it won’t be as good as when it’s made.
Hi Nami,
loving your cookbook! it really did become my “one cookbook” when it comes to Japanese. Now I have a question regarding dashi, maybe you can help clear this up:
What is the difference between Aragatsuo, Katsuobushi, Karebushi, Kezuribushi, Kezurikatsuo and Hanakatsuo?
I think Katsuobushi is the word for the complete wood-like dried Katsuo, not the shavings because these are karebushi? Or are they?
Cheers,
Mike
Hi Mike! I’m happy to hear you enjoy my blog! And thanks for the question! You know very details about bonito flakes!
First of all, I think “Aragatsuo” you mean is a different thing. Ara = head and gatsuo = katsuo, and there is a dish called “Katsuo no Ara ni (鰹のあら煮)”. It’s a simmered dish and not dried bonito flakes.
“Katsuobushi 鰹節” refer to a whole block of dried and smoked meat or shaved one. But “Kezuribushi 削り節” only refers to shaved katuobushi (kezuri means “shaved”). People generally use the term katsuobushi or kezuribushi for bonito flakes.
Katsuobushi has different names depends on how it’s processed.
* Namaribushi 生利節 (boiled and dried only)
* Arabushi 荒節 (smoked after boiled and dried)
* Karebushi 枯節 (mature by deliberately planting fungus to reduce moisture), and
* Honkarebushi 本枯節 (even more matured and most expensive kind).
Hanakatsuo 花鰹 is katsuobushi (but precisely kezuribushi) that’s shaved like “hana” (flower). There are different names for how it’s shaved.
Hope this helps. Maybe Google can answer your question better.
By the way, the email got bounced back. I hope you see my response here.
Many thanks!
Let me see if I understand this correctly
Namaribushi, Arabushi, Karebushi and Honkarebushi are different production steps of Katsuobushi. For example if you have “arabushi” and then plant fungus into it, it becomes “karebushi”.
Now when people use the term “kezuribushi”, does this refer to shaved flakes of Namaribushi, Arabushi, Karebushi or Honkarebushi? Are there other specific words for shavings of, say, Karebushi as opposed to Arabushi?
When buying katsuobushi flakes, what kind of shaving would you recommend? Probably there are more thick/coarse cuts for making dashi, and probably when topping agedashidofu you would use hanakatsuo?
ok… this is getting very, very specific
Cheers!
Hi Mike,
Yes, the first part is right.
Glad you asked – I had to check.
Katsuobushi Kezuribushi (鰹節削り節) is shaved Karebushi or Honkarebushi. Of course more expensive.
Katsuo Kezuribushi (鰹削り節) is shaved Arabushi (no fungus). Less flavor but cheaper. It’s generally used for dashi at home (so that we can use a lot, I guess). This is the general “Katsuobushi” when you talk about bonito flakes. Hana Katsuo is categorized here.
I like using big flakes (Hana Katsuo) for dashi instead of small flakes which I use for Agedashi tofu (but of course preference). For Okonomiyaki I like bigger flakes too.
Hope this helps. Glad you got my email/response.
Again, many thanks!
By the way, I don’t know if you want to publish this (commercial and all) but you should check out http://www.fushitaka.com/ I can’t really understand it, it’s only Japanese, but they appear to have a spectacular variety of Katsuobushi.
Thanks for the link! Yes they even have other fish’s kezuribushi besides katsuo. I sometimes wish that I could get these good ingredients here!
Thanks for the updated how-to! I always use those packets (sheepish), can’t wait to see the vegetarian walkthrough!
I love your traditional Japanese recipes, it is fascinating to learn about another culture’s traditional foods! This is great. I doubt I’ll have the stuff on hand to make it, but it’s good to know!
なるほどね。なみちゃんプロだね、プロ。スローフードの代表選手みたいだぜ。かっこいい！
Hi Nami,
For the kombu, if I don’t have time to soak it for 3 hours – half day, do I just skip this proceess and just boil the kombu?
Thanks.
Hi Candice! Yes you can – but even 30 minutes would help! Make sure to take out kombu BEFORE boiling.
A great recipe! A healthy stock.
Cheers,
Rosa
really interesting, Nami. A good stock always makes the dish.
That looks so good. I must give it a try and I can use the stock just like the way we use chicken stock?
Hi Vij! Yes, we can replace chicken stock with dashi for a lot of dishes (not all)
Maybe the easiest way to guess is that if you use soy sauce or other Asian seasonings, you can definitely use dashi. However, it’s not meant for western food – I think flavor is a bit strange. Hope this helps. 
I always have miso so this is perfect! Love this =)
Wow. I learn something new everytime I visit your site. This is so fascinating. Can this be frozen for future use?
Yes, it lasts in the freezer for 3 weeks. It’s better to use sooner as the flavor won’t be as good as when you make it.
Thanks for sharing this key Japanese ingredient, I use them a lot but I buy the instant ones.
This is really awesome Nami. I never got around to buying some but would rather make it. And I have bonito flakes at home…treat for the cats lol.
Great, thanks Nami! I’ve seen many recipes that use dashi but I had no idea where to buy it, but now I can make it
Your dashi looks so good. I would drink a big bowl
wow! What a recipe, what a dish, what a great step by step! You continue to amaze me
I need to make this for miso soup. I would really be interested in the vegetarian dashi.
This is something I see me making right away! I love how many useful, everyday recipes I find here that I would never had made otherwise!
This is really cool! I always thought dashi was shellfish based so I am really happy to learn it is not. Love your how tos!
Wow, this looks quite amazing! Thanks for the step-by-step pictures, very helpful.
Thank you Natalie! I’m glad you enjoy this post!
Love this recipe! And it seems so easy! I should try it! I bet it would be a good base for things like risotto too!
I often see this in recipes and did not know exactly what it was, thanks for this!
Oo, thank you for your tip about how to make Niban dashi! I always like that feeling when I can use excess ingredients for one more thing, without letting anything go to waste.
I love that you give us so many step by step pictures Nami. It is very helpful, thank you.
Great post! I have made dashi, but I confess it’s not something I make often. I should change that – it’s easy to do, and has such great flavor. Looking forward to your vegetarian dashi! Really good stuff – thanks.
Visiting your blog is always, always a good thing. Not only I am getting all the delicious recipes that you have, I am also getting free education on Japanese cuisines. Thank you, Nami. I always appreciate these informative posts from you.
Hi Nami! I actually just last week bought dashi from a Japanese supermarket, but I guess I must have bought the pre-made stuff since it’s just called ‘dashi stock’? Anyway, just thought I should let you know that I love the flavour! I was wondering what I could add it to, I know people say its used in udon soup but is there anything else? And do I need to also get mirin?
Thanks!
Hi Xinmei! Was your “dashi stock” liquid or powder form?
Either way, most of Japanese dishes require some dashi stock for cooking. I’ll add link here for two of my Udon recipes as example. You will see “dashi” there.
http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/curry-udon/
http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/kitsune-udon/
Also, mirin is a must condiment to cook Japanese food. You can find it in Asian/Japanese markets. It’s basically sweetened sake.
Hope this helps!
Hi Nami – a very helpful post. And I am definitely interested in how you make the vegetarian version.
LL
Wow! This sounds a lot easier than I thought. I feel so guilty of using the powder thing. I need to make my own now. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Ohhh yum
I had no idea that this was how you made dashi 
I have always just used the powder and even though I know it’s not as tasty, it is very easy hehe
I just hope I will be able to find the ingredients and try at home~
I’ve seen so many of your recipes that call for dashi but since it’s not something I use a lot, I really didn’t know what it was except for a type of stock. So I thank you for this recipe and tutorial on how to make it! It’s just what I needed! I make all kinds of stock so why not dashi? YAY! It’s going to be harder to get the ingredients than to make this.
Actually, just a trip to the Asian market.
I have never tried Dashi but you give perfect instructions on how to make it at home Nami!
This is so helpful. I’ve been using store bough Dashi as I don’t really use them that often. But it’s so easy to make. I really have no excuse to buy them again! hahaaha….Thanks for the recipe, Nami.
Thank you for sharing, Nami! I love “back to basics” recipes and I’ve always wanted to make dashi since it is in quite a few recipes I’d like to try. Your photos and directions are always so helpful!
I actually bought those instant dashi packets to try some Japanese cooking! Making it homemade like this looks so cool.
Awesome tutorial! I usually make mine using bonito flakes. This is a nice alternative!
Hi, is the dashi stock suitable for making porridge for baby (10 months)?
Hi Ginny! Yes, in Japan dashi is introduced to baby as early as 8 months old. Start from diluted version to make sure your baby has no allergy and flavor is not too strong. You can use kombu dashi (vegetarian), too.
Winter is a perfect time for stocks. Some people make it from mushrooms, some from chicken, of course. To me your stock is very exotic, I would love to try it. Very bright color, and I love it-)
Thanks for the recipe! I usually cheat by using in the bottle dashi concentrate, my bf turned me on to it. This will be nice when I want to do more formal meals.
Thank you Diana! I usually use dashi packet (like a tea bag) for my daily use which is really quick and easy. But when I need a lot of dashi for 1-2 dishes, I always make it from scratch. Thank you for your feedback!
It’s awesome that you shared this recipe, Nami. I used Dashi powder but I always have bonito flakes in the pantry. I had no idea it was this easy. Thank you!
Dear Nami,
Mysaucepan loves her cold soba noodles in summer and she buys the ready made dashi. This recipe looks simple enough to make though.
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