Dashi is essential and the foundation to all authentic Japanese cuisine. 
 
It gives life to foods.

It can be comparable to bouillon in Western cooking, however, there is a fundamental difference. Dashi works by bringing out the flavor of the featured ingredients.

When it comes to making Gyudon (beef bowl) to various Japanese hotpots to the most staple foods, Miso soup, it contains stock.  
Without it in your foods, it’s soulless.

Dashi brings out the 5th flavor, Umami, full of amino acids that create inexplicable deliciousness.

Here are the basic key ingredients & Dashi types

・Konbu (seaweed Kelp) – Glutamate dashi
・Katsuo (Shaved Bonito Flakes)- Inosinate dashi
・Shiitake Mushrooms- Glutamate dashi
・Niboshi (Dried Sardines)- Inosinate dashi

Combining different ingredient yields the fullest flavor, called Awase (Combine) dashi.

Making Dashi

Dashi is made by soaking and boiling marine and land products, extracting the flavor enhancing amino acids. Dashi itself is delicious, but when used in cooking, it draws out and balances the flavors of each individual ingredient.

BASIC DASHI PREPARATION

Konbu Dashi　

Great for: Clear soups, Nabe hot pots, Sushi rice

Ingredients:
4 cups water
4 inch square Dashi Konbu

Preparation:

1. Lightly wipe off surface of Dashi Konbu with a damp cloth. Do not wash.
2. Add cold water into a saucepan. Place Konbu square into water, and let soak for one hour.
3. Heat water using low heat. Just before water comes to a boil, remove Konbu and discard. Remove Dashi from heat source. Makes 4 cups.

Katsuo Dashi

Great for: Nimono, clear soups, Miso soup

Ingredients:
3-1/4 cups cold water
2/3 oz Hanakatsuo

Preparation:

1. Heat water in saucepan using medium heat. Just before water comes to a boil, add Hanakatsuo.
2. While water returns to boil, skim off foam that rises to the surface.
3. When water reaches boiling point, remove from heat source. Cool a bit before straining Dashi with cheesecloth or paper towels. Makes about 3 cups.
   

Awase Dashi

Great for: Clear soups, Nimono, Noodle sauces

Ingredients:
4-1/4 cups cold water
4 inch square Dashi Konbu
2/3 oz Hanakatuso

Preparation:

1. Prepare Konbu Dashi.
2. Add Hanakatsuo to saucepan while returning back to a boil under medium heat. Skim off foam that rises to the surface.
3. When Dashi returns to a boil, remove from heat source. Cool a bit before straining Dashi with cheesecloth or paper towels. Makes about 4 cups.

Hanamaruki Foods is a large miso manufacturer founded almost 100 year ago. Their unique preparation of Shiokoji is wonderful for adding umami to many dishes.

Shiokoji is a traditional Japanese condiment made from three ingredients: Salt, Koji (Fermented Rice) and Water.

Hanamaruki’s Liquid Shiokoji is one of a kind and convenient preparation of traditional Shiokoji. Unlike the traditional Shiokoji which still contains grounds of rice, Hanamaruki has filtered out all of the remaining of the ground rice and made it to pure liquid, still containing the rich enzymes from the fermentation process.

Since the liquid Shiokoji is not heat-treated, and the enzymes it contains remain active. These enzymes are effective in neutralizing natural strong scents from meat as it is cooked and also enhance the texture by creating a soft and tender product. Adding LIQUID SHIO KOJI in even small amounts increases the amount of amino acids in a dish, giving you a full-flavored finish.

We highly recommend using this product on Sashimi. You will not be disappointed.

Bring UMAMI into your foods!!

Hot sauce that’s one of a kind.

Kanzuri, the traditional seasoning sauce from Niigata’s Myoko City, is made extra spicy by fermenting chili powder for three years.

The Red Kanzuri is made by mixing in what was called “the world’s spiciest” pepper, Habanero. Instead of vinegar, soy sauce is used as a base

Have it with your favorite dishes like Pizza, Pasta, Gyoza Potstickers, Hotpot or even in Ramen~

Ingredients
Red Wafu Gekikara Chili Sauce Ingredients: Soy Sauce (Soybean, Wheat, Water,  Salt.), Habanero Pepper, Chili Pepper, Rice  Koji (Molded Rice), Citron, Salt

A Gift from the Sea

Moshio is salt derived from seawater and seaweed like sargassum. The beige-tinted salt, rich in minerals from seawater and seaweed, has mild flavor, aroma, and umami derived from seaweed that not only set it apart from rock- or sun-dried salt but also gain popularity for Moshio as all-natural health food.

Moshio is the earliest known sea salt produced by our Japanese ancestors nearly 2,500 years ago. Although Japan is surrounded by sea water, the country’s humid, rainy climate has never been well suited for large-scale production of dry salt.

Moshio contains abundant seaweed minerals like iodine, calcium, potassium and magnesium. Relatively low in salinity, Moshio has a mild taste and rich umami.

Moshio contains seaweed’s rich sweetness and is great for many kinds of dishes and uses:

Sprinkle on: Grilled fish, yakiniku barbecue, yakitori chicken skewers
For dipping: Tempura, tofu, steak, etc.

Sushi and Sashimi
Soup stock, vinegared sushi rice, pickles, pickled plums, rice balls

Broth for salt-based ramen.

Food preparation
Seasoning (fish, meat, etc.)

Also for salads, with tofu, gyoza dumplings, making noodles (soba, somen, udon, etc.)
French, Italian, Chinese cuisines, baking, desserts
Bread, baguettes