Dashi – Fish Stock

Dashi (出汁, だし) is a type of broth used in Japanese cuisine. It is made from fish, the type of fish varying depending on the region, but the most common dashi flavor is made from the bonito fish. It might be labeled on the box as hon dashi (ほんだし, real dashi) which just refers to the way it was made.

Hearing it’s a fish broth, you might be a little turned off from it, but the flavor is not very fishy. Dashi is the basis for a lot of Japanese dishes, so chances are you’ve already tasted it. In fact, if you’ve had miso soup, you’ve had dashi!

Dashi is easiest to find in powder granules. You then just add it to water to get the broth, usually 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of water. Most likely you will only find dashi in an Asian market, but you can buy it online and stock up! If you can’t find it, I usually substitute chicken or vegetable broth.

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