All About Dashi

The dashi pack. Kuze Fuku & Sons dashi is easily prepared by placing this teabag-like pack in water and simmering it.

• The Traditional Method
• The Dashi Pack
• How to use Kuze Fuku & Sons Dashi

Kuze Fuku & Sons Dashi

Crafted to give you the flavor and authenticity of dashi made in the traditional, homemade way, free of chemicals and without the need to spend long amounts of time in your kitchen trying to get the recipe right.

Dashi is a soup base commonly used as one of the main ingredients in most Japanese dishes. Made from shaved bonito, kombu, and various seafoods, dashi adds the savory flavor that is characteristic of Japanese cuisine. Kuze Fuku & Sons Dashi is created by culinary masters with the knowledge and generations-long experience needed to craft authentic dashi using no MSG or other artificial flavorings, and tasting like it had been prepared for hours in your kitchen.

With Kuze Fuku & Sons Dashi, in mere minutes you can get the same umami flavor, created from traditional methods using all-natural ingredients, but without the hassle.

The Traditional Method

The traditional way of making dashi involves simmering kombu and niboshi sardines, adding in katsuobushi, and then slowly filtering it all until you have reached the desired flavor. This process is time-consuming, requiring a lot of trial and error before getting it right. Often soy sauce and salt must be added in small amounts, tasted, and then added again until the proper umami taste is achieved.

For the experienced Japanese chef or home cook, this method has for generations been an everyday ritual, but for beginners who do not have the experience of knowing the correct temperature or time frame for simmering, it is a daunting and frustrating task.

Artificial instant dashi powder, the market's response to the need for easy dashi

Artificial Dashi

Because the traditional method is difficult and time consuming to make, the market responded with the creation and production of a powder-based instant dashi. However, this instant dashi powder contains MSG and various chemical additives. It isn't flavorful and often has a strange aftertaste. Because it is largely artificial, it is not real dashi.

Artificial instant dashi became a popular item in the market due to the convenience it offered, yet its largely chemical composition left much to be desired. Consumers longed for a product that combined the convenience of instant dashi with the natural ingredients and nutritional content offered by dashi prepared in the traditional way.

Kuze Fuku & Sons Dashi, combining convenience with the natural ingredients, flavor and nutrition of traditional dashi-making.

The main ingredients in Kuze Fuku & Sons Dashi.

The Solution: Authentic Dashi in Packs

To meet the growing demand of consumers, Kuze Fuku & Sons teamed up with regional food craftsmen and created dashi that can be easily prepared in minutes simply by simmering a small teabag of dashi ingredients in water. The result is a rich, authentic umami flavored dashi broth made from natural ingredients and with no MSG or other chemical seasonings. There is also no need for additional seasoning with soy sauce or salt. We have already figured out exactly how much of each ingredient is needed for you.

Bonito is the main ingredient that enhances the flavor of our dashi and is obtained at the Japanese port of Yaizu on Japan's central Pacific coast. The bonito we use is caught in the equatorial region of the western Pacific Ocean, between Guam, Micronesia Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Bonito from these southern waters is preferable due to the low-fat content in the bodies of the fish. Fish that swim farther north have a much higher fat content, which is highly prized for sashimi, but not preferable for katsuobushi, the main form of bonito that is found in our dashi.

The katsuobushi in our dashi is made by master craftsmen through a process of simmering, careful smoke drying and other steps, resulting in a refined and superior smoked bonito flavor and strong aroma. We also add dried bonito to the mix, which is ground into a fine powder with a rich umami flavor. Finding the right balance of ingredients to create the ideal flavor took a long time of trial and experimentation.

Kombu, is another important ingredient, and in testing we used several types of kombu, finding Hidaka kombu from Hokkaido to be the best suited. Hidaka kombu is slightly cloudy in color, with a strong scent, due to the mineral and plankton-rich water in which it grows.

Mackerel, sardine, and flying fish are also blended in to create a deeper, richer flavor. These are the hidden tastes that result in the robust, refined flavor of our dashi.

Benefits of Kuze Fuku & Sons Dashi

• A quick and easy to make soup base, compared with other soup bases which can take as long as a day for a consumer to prepare.
• Adds a very smooth, umami taste into many types of cuisine.
• Can be used as a soup base or as a seasoning
• No MSG or other chemical seasonings
• No need for additional seasoning with Soy Sauce or Salt