Dashi is a stock that serves as an essential base for many dishes in Japanese cuisine. Different types of dashi are made using a variety of fish and vegetable ingredients, resulting in a wide range of flavours and uses.

The most common types of dashi are katsuo dashi and awase dashi. Katsuo dashi is prepared using katsuobushi (also referred to as bonito flakes); shaved flakes of dried, fermented and smoked skipjack tuna. Awase dashi is a popular combination of katsuo dashi and kombu, edible kelp. Other types of dashi include niboshi dashi, also known as iriko dashi, made with anchovies, ago dashi, made with flying fish, and the vegan shiitake dashi, made with dried shiitake mushrooms.

In this episode of the ‘Essentials of the Japanese Kitchen’ series, Michelin-listed chef Shimizu Akira of AKIRA restaurant demonstrates how to prepare awase dashi.

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