One of the most convenient ways of making delicious dashi for your miso soup and other Japanese dishes is using dashi packet (だしパック). These little pouches work just like tea bags; you simply need to mix them with water, let the flavor steep and infuse, and you’ll have flavorful dashi soup stock instantly! They are reasonably affordable and save so much time in the kitchen. In this post, I will share my favorite dashi packet and how to use it.
The Dashi Packet I Love
After trying a handful of dashi packet brands, I believe Kayanoya Dashi has the best flavors among them. This dashi packet includes flying fish (Yakiago, Tobiuo), bonito flakes (katsuobushi), Pacific round herring (Urume Iwashi), kelp (Ma Kombu; see different types of kombu in this post), and sea salt. One bag of Kayanoya Dashi contains 30 packets ($3.81/oz). If you make miso soup with a dashi packet, you can make roughly 60 miso soup bowls. By the way, it is cheaper than a carton of chicken stock! Kayanoya says on their website: Our products contain no additives including artificial flavors and preservatives. Chemically-made MSG (sodium glutamate) is not added to the product during the manufacturing process, but we have not tested whether naturally-derived MSG is mixed in, so we do not advertise our products as “no MSG”. In addition, powder floats in the air during manufacturing and packaging processes, and naturally-derived MSG can generate. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that naturally-derived MSG is not mixed in.
Other Dashi Packets
Recipes Using Dashi
The majority of Japanese recipes require dashi to add authentic umami-rich savory flavors and here are some examples.
Miso Soup Beef Udon Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl) Tamagoyaki (Rolled Omelette) Shrimp Tempura
The Ultimate Dashi Guide
Dashi plays an important role as a flavor enhancer in Japanese cooking, so food is not seasoned with too much salt, fat, or sugar. Rich in minerals and other vitamins, dashi is considered a healthy ingredient in our daily diet. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. If you are new to different types of dashi, check out my Ultimate Dashi Guide. Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on June 7, 2016. The original video was replaced with the new video using updated clips on April 26, 2024.
