Kombu is harvested in Hokkaido and part of the Tohoku region in Japan. The shape, taste quality and umami strength vary by origin. Kombu is one of the most glutamate rich ingredients. Glutamate is one of the umami substances. (For more information on kombu →) The Umami Information Center prepares kombu dashi in two ways: the preparation method for heated kombu dashi and soaked kombu dashi. The recipe to make each type of dashi is explained below.

The taste and flavor of Katsuobushi vary depending on the part of the body (back part, stomach part, half body) used, whether it is with or without chiai, the red bloody muscle part, and with or without the molding process even if the same bonito fish is used. In addition, shaving styles differ. There are basically two methods: Atsukezuri, thick shavings for long cooking times and Usukezuri, thin shavings for short cooking times to expand surface area. The Umami Information Center chooses Hon karebushi (*) without chiai, thinly shaved aiming to yield more inosinate rich and less fishy flavored dashi. (For more information on Katsuobushi →)

＊Hon karebushi : This type has undergone the entire process including molding.

Niboshi are small fish that are boiled and then dried. There is no specific “niboshi” fish - rather, the types of fish used to make niboshi vary, with each lending a different flavor to the cooking into which it is incorporated. The most popular use for niboshi dashi in Japan is in the miso soup eaten at home, traditionally as part of every meal. Let’s taste niboshi dashi to expand your umami dashi experience. We reheat soaked niboshi dashi to lessen the fish flavor and maximize its umami. Not only inosinate comes from fish but amino acid is felt in this dashi and you feel strong umami.

Here, let’s try dashi made of dried shiitake mushroom which is crucial for shojin, vegetarian cuisine. Shojin dashi, vegetable dashi is a fish free stock that can be used in any vegetarian dish. It is most commonly associated with Buddhist cuisine, playing an important role in the food served at religious ceremonies or events. It can be made from a great variety of dried vegetables, but the most popular combination is dried shiitake and kombu. It has a slightly sweeter taste than fish based dashi. The umami substance of dried shiitake mushrooms is glutamate and guanylate. For more information on shiitake mushrooms, →

The preparation shown below adopts the method for obtaining a dashi rich in guanylate. Dried shiitake mushroom contains two types of enzymes: one generates guanylate and the other breaks down guanylate. They activate in different temperature zones. Our method makes use of this theory. The Umami Information Center presents two types of dried shiitake mushroom dashi: Simply soaked and soaked dashi that has been reheated. The soaked dashi imparts other tastes beside umami and has an astringent and bitter taste. Reheated dashi minimizes the astringent taste and increases the umami taste.

Here, we present a preparation method using only vegetables. This recipe was originaly created by the Umami Information Center for umami tasting. The umami substance of this bouillon is glutamate. The key points of this bouillon are a short cooking time at a low temperature and low salt seasoning.

This is a light tasting bouillon made of chicken breast meat and water. The main umami substance of the bouillon is inosinate.We add a small amount of salt (0.3% of the bouillon) before serving.

　Without Japanese origin ingredients such as kombu or katsuobushi, by utilizing synergistic effect and combining other ingredients, you can obtain tasty dashi. For example, dashi made from ingredients which are available in Western countries such as dried tomatoes and dried morel, could be used for Japanese dishes such as osuimono, clear coup and chawan mushi, salty egg custard. This recipe was originally created by Chef Yoshihiro Murata, the owner of kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto.（Please look at the recipe in “Umami Lecture in Fukuoka”→）