Oden (おでん) is a classic Japanese winter dish of vegetables, fish cakes, and other hearty ingredients gently simmered in a savory dashi-based broth. You’ll often find oden served as a light appetizer alongside sake or beer at Izakaya pubs, but it’s just as beloved as a warm, comforting home-cooked meal. Slowly simmered and deeply flavorful,…
Agedashi Chicken is chicken tender pieces that are lightly deep-fried and served in mildly flavored Dashi soup. This is an arranged dish of Agedashi Tofu, and chicken version is a fulfilling appetizer or even main entree.
Dashi Curry is a curry made without store-bought curry mix but with dashi stock and curry powder, thickened with starch. It’s a simpler type of Japanese curry often found at Soba or Udon noodle shops, in contrast to curry specialty stores that use more complicated spices and ingredients. Unlike traditional Japanese curries that rely on…
Fried Rice, known as Yakimeshi in Japanese, is such an easy dish to make with ingredients you already have. It’s a typical lunch dish to make at home with leftover rice, meat, and vegetable you have in the fridge. While salt and pepper with a bit of soy sauce are all you need to season…
Miso Soup (味噌汁) is, as many of you may already know, a comforting soup made with miso paste and typically includes tofu and vegetables. It’s an essential part of Japanese cuisine and is served with almost every traditional meal. You’ve probably had miso soup before—even if you didn’t order it—since it often comes alongside dishes…
Dashi, broth of fish or vegetables, is an important component when cooking Japanese food. Dashi is the base flavor of a lot of Japanese dishes, and it is hard to omit. Whether you make it from scratch or use more convenient instant granules or packets, Dashi will be needed if you’re cooking Japanese food. We’ll…
Tamago Tofu (Tamagodofu) is savory egg flan similar to Chawanmushi. Even though it’s called Tofu, it is not made from soy beans. It is really more like custard. Tamago Tofu is simply flavored with salt, Mirin, and Dashi fish stock. This subtle and comforting dish is usually eaten chilled, especially in warm seasons. If you…
Kakitamajiru is a kind of Sumashijiru, a Japanese clear soup, but with an egg. It looks similar to the famous Chinese egg drop soup, but the flavor is totally different. Kakitamajiru is made from Dashi (or Ichiban Dashi), and it has a subtle but nice Umami (savory flavor). The soft yellow egg and green Mitsuba, Japanese…
Ichiban Dashi (一番だし) is a Dashi broth using a combination of Kombu (Dried Kelp) and Katsuo (Dried Bonito Flakes). You can use either one of these ingredients to make Dashi; however, Ichiban Dashi uses both and that gives a much richer and more complex flavor to the broth.
Dashi or Japanese soup stock is a very important component in traditional Japanese cooking. It is used in soups, stews, boiled vegetables and many other dishes. It is not hard to make at all, but it is one step you have to take before you cook food. There are different kinds of Dashi you can…