Dashi is the basic ingredient of traditional Japanese cuisine. Most Japanese recipes call for dashi, whether in soup form or in dried powder form. Usually dashi is combined with soy sauce and mirin to make the authentic Japanese taste.
To make dashi, you can just boil the main ingredients until the flavor is transferred into the stock soup. You can use dried bonito flakes, dried sardine, dried flying fish, kombu kelp, and/or shiitake mushroom as Dashi Ingredients.
Unfortunately, some popular dashi uses fish as main ingredients, and might not suitable for those who live vegan lifestyles.
But worry not! In this article we will help you, our vegan reader to make plant based dashi, so you can still enjoy Japanese authentic cuisine. There 4 recipes you can follow to make your own Vegan Dashi: Kombu Dashi, Hoshi-Shiitake Dashi, Vegetable Scraps Dashi, and Japanese Vegetarian Dashi.
You can learn more detail about dashi in this article below! We explained about Dashi types, and Dashi’s health benefits there.
In case you are a NOT a vegan, this recipes collection of Fish dashi might also help you:
Kombu Dashi Recipe
The first vegan dashi we would like to introduce you is Kombu Dashi. The features of kombu dashi are characterized by the gentle taste of kelp and how it can make the best of the original taste of the ingredients in your cooking without overpowering it. It is best to use for Hot Pot.
Besides boiling, you can obtain kombu dashi by soaking it as well. If you use this method, make sure to use more kombu to get enough flavor from the dashi.
Kombu Dashi
Ingredients
- 20 g Kombu Kelp
- 1 L Water
Instructions
- Cut the kombu kelp into 10cm wide squares. Wipe them clean with kitchen paper. The white powder-like substance attached to the surface of kombu is a flavor component called mannit, so be careful not to scrape it too much.
- Add the kombu pieces to a pot of water. Put it over medium heat until it’s boiling. Then turn off the heat.
- Let the kombu steep for 10 to 30 minutes and your kombu dashi is done!
Hoshi Shiitake Dashi
Hoshi shiitake is Japanese name of dried shiitake mushroom. They have a more concentrated, meaty flavour than fresh shiitake mushrooms, and have a chewy texture. They are dark brown on top, and tan or orangey-brown underneath where the gills are.
Hoshi shiitake can be made into delicious dashi and often used as a base for boiled foods, such as Japanese hot pot. For those who do not prefer dashi with animal ingredients in it, hoshi-shiitake is a handy ingredient along with kombu.
Hoshi-shiitake dashi also has good compatibility with kombu. We recommend making a combined dashi of kombu and hoshi shiitake.
Hoshi Shiitake Dashi
Ingredients
- 40 g Dried Shiitake Mushroom
- 1 L Water
Instructions
- Clean the dirt from hoshi shiitake lightly. When washing with running water, don’t use strong flow of water.
- Put cold water in a container (pan/bowl), soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, and cover it with a lid.
- Leave for half a day in the refrigerator. If you don’t have time, you can crush the shiitake, or take it out in the middle of process and slice it. Then, you can make the dashi with just a few hours of soaking.
- The water has absorbed the flavor of shiitake. This water is the hoshi shiitake dashi. Strain the mushroom bits out of the dashi and your dashi is completed.
Vegetable Scraps Dashi
As the name suggests, it is soup stock made from vegetable scraps. Using the cut ends, skins, and cores, or we usually call it scraps of vegetables, this dashi is not only economical but can also help you to contribute reducing food waste.
Common veggies used for this dashi are celery, carrots, onions, cabbages, garlic and other available leftovers. Each vegetable has different nutrients, so it’s even better to use many kinds of vegetables.
This type of dashi is suitable to use for Vegetable Dishes, Miso Soup, etc
Vegetable Scraps Dashi
Ingredients
- Vegetable Scraps to your preference
- 1 Litre Water
Instructions
- Pour the water into a pot, then turn on the heat.
- Pour a teaspoon of cooking sake/cooking liquor and the scraps of vegetables into the pot.
- Cook over low heat for 30 minutes
- After the color comes out in the soup, take the vegetable scraps with a strainer. If you feel the taste is too light, add a little bit of shoyu (soy sauce) and coarse pepper.
Japanese Vegetarian Dashi
The last vegan dashi recipe we want to introduce you is this Japanese Vegetarian Dashi. It has authentic Japanese taste without any animal product.
You can combine ingredients like kombu, shiitake mushroom, and kanpyo (dried gourd strips). Add a little soybeans to the stock to add dimension to the flavor.
Japanese Vegan Dashi
Ingredients
- 10 g Kombu Kelp
- 10 g Dried Shiitake Mushroom
- 15 g Soybeans
- 1 pc Kanpyo dried gourd strips
- 1 L Water
Instructions
- Before preparing the soup stock, lightly roast soybeans in a frying pan to bring out the fragrance.
- Soak all of the ingredients in water and leave overnight (one night).
- Boil the already soaked ingredients with medium heat until just before boiling,after that, boil for about 20 minutes on low heat.
- Drain the ingredients from the soup with a strainer, and the dashi is completed!
