Soup stock is the basis of the taste and flavor of a cuisine.
In Japan, we call it “Dashi”.
As a Japanese soup stock, the ingredients are generally kelp, dried bonito, small sardines or other seafood. These ingredients contain glutamic acid, inosinic acid and more for taste and flavor.
Also, using dashi, you can make your own style of soup, such as miso soup.
You will find the difference in flavor/taste of the soup easily if you compare both “with dashi “ and “without dashi “.
How to make Dashi soup
Depending on the region, there are two major methods.
In Eastern areas: Dried bonito is preferred to use as its base.
When you eat udon noodles here, you need to add some soy sauce to
this dashi soup.
In Western areas: Kelp based dashi soup is preferred and add dried bonito, dried small
sardines etc
We often say, “ It is eaten with Dashi soup in Kansai (Western area), and is eaten with
Tsuyu (soup) in Kanto (Eastern area).”
Japanese cuisine uses Dashi in a variety of ways, from house cooking to restaurant food.
In order to make this dashi soup, first you need to get kelp for dashi and dried bonito for dashi.
Here are the steps you need to follow to make a dashi soup like the one from the Kanto area.
1. Boil the water
2. Add the bonito to the boiled water and remove the fire from the pot.
3. Once the bonito sinks, it filters its water and completes
* Amount of bonito approx. 30g/2 liter water
You can use this dashi soup as miso soup, Udon soup with soy sauce.
When you make one like Kansai style,
- Prepare the kelp in 2 liters of water and boil
- Add the bonito to the boiling water and remove the fire
- Once the bonito sinks, filter the water and complete
approx. Kelp 20g Bonito 30g
You can use this dashi soup with salt as Udon dashi soup.
You can make Furikake from the dried bonito and kelp after extracting those tastes like last picture below. Please roast them on the frying pan with a little salt.
