Basic Japanese Dashi

How to make dashi, a fundamental Japanese soup stock.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated December 22, 2025
Closeup of a ladle pouring dashi back into a pot.

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Why It Works

  • The compounds in the kombu and bonito interact to amplify each other's flavor, resulting in a powerfully umami broth.
  • Bringing the stock to a bare simmer allows for gentle flavor extraction and prevents bitter flavors from being leached out.
  • Adding katsuobushi to the stock off the heat, then letting it infuse for five minutes before straining it out, gives the dashi smoky, savory depth without the unpleasant aftertaste that comes from boiling.

This fundamental Japanese soup stock only calls for two ingredients—plus water—and is the flavor-packed base for all our favorite miso soup recipes. Both bonito flakes and dried kombu are umami-filled, deeply flavorful ingredients, and the final soup stock will amp up any sauce you add it to.

July 2016

Recipe Details

How to Make Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)

Cook 10 mins
Active 3 mins
Infusing Time 5 mins
Total 15 mins
Serves 8 servings
Makes 2 quarts
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Ingredients

  • 2 quarts (2 L) water

  • 1 ounce (30 g) dried kombu (see note)

  • 1 ounce (30 g) packed dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi, see note)

Directions

  1. Combine water and kombu in a medium saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and add bonito flakes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard kombu and bonito, or reserve to make a second, weaker batch of dashi. Dashi can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

Kombu and shaved katsuobushi are widely available at Japanese grocers or in the Asian section of most large supermarkets.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
12 Calories
0g Fat
0g Carbs
2g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 12
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 6mg 2%
Sodium 282mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 20mg 2%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 58mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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