Dashi (Japanese soup stock) is a Japanese soup stock, and it is a fundamental ingredient in many Japanese dishes to create authentic flavor. Today I want to share how to make Shiitake Dashi (干し椎茸の戻し汁/椎茸のだし).
What is Shiitake Dashi?
Shittake Dashi (干し椎茸の戻し汁/椎茸のだし) is the liquid created from re-hydrating dried shiitake mushrooms in water. As opposed to regular vegetable broth, we use Shiitake Dashi and Kombu Dashi as the only vegetarian and vegan dashi in Japanese cooking. These soup stocks allow you to cook authentic Japanese dishes without sacrificing the flavors. In this post, I will show you how to re-hydrate dried shiitake mushrooms and make Shiitake Dashi for preparing food.
Shiitake Dashi for Vegetarians and Vegans
Shiitake Dashi is more of a by-product from rehydrating dried shiitake mushrooms with a small amount of water. Since the soaking liquid has good nutrients and flavors, we never throw it away and try to find a good use for it in cooking. We usually combine the liquid with other kinds of dashi to enhance the flavor and add umami; however, we rarely used shiitake dashi as its own. Since I moved to the US, I learned that a lot of vegetarians and vegans here use diluted shiitake dashi (the soaking liquid) as a vegetarian/vegan-friendly stock in their Japanese cooking. In Japan, Kombu Dashi is usually the only and most commonly used “vegetarian/vegan dashi” because shiitake dashi has an intense flavor that it could be too strong for subtle Japanese seasonings. However, if you enjoy the deep and rich shiitake dashi flavor, you can definitely use this soaking liquid as dashi to cook Japanese food.
2 Important Tips to Get the Best Flavor from Dried Shiitake Mushrooms:
Good dried shiitake mushrooms are expensive, but the flavors and texture are amazing. Oita prefecture (大分県) in the Kyushu region is known for the best quality dried shiitake mushrooms.
Buy thick mushrooms with deep white fissures on the cap (more flavor).Use cold water to soak dried shiitake mushrooms to slowly bring out the flavor from mushrooms, preferably overnight.
To make shiitake dashi, please note that we can only use dried shiitake mushrooms because fresh shiitake mushrooms do not have the same deep and intense flavors as dried ones.
Make-Ahead Japanese Soup Stock for Vegetarian Cooking
Shiitake dashi stores well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and up to 1 month in the freezer, so you can prepare your stock ahead of time. Whenever you make miso soup or noodle soups, you will always have the dashi in hand. Here are some vegetarian and vegan-friendly recipes with dashi that you may like to try:
Vegetarian RamenVegan Miso SoupSpinach Ohitashi (Japanese Spinach Salad)Kenchinjiru (clear soup with root vegetables and tofu)Kitsune Udon
The Ultimate Dashi Guide
Dashi plays an important role as a flavor enhancer in Japanese cooking, so you don’t need to season the food with too much salt, fat, and 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.
Awase Dashi – a stock made from a combination of dried kelp + bonito flakesKombu Dashi * – a stock made from dried kelpKatsuo Dashi – a stock made from dried bonito flakesIriko Dashi – a stock made from dried anchovies/sardinesShiitake Dashi * – a stock made from dried shiitake mushroomsVegan Dashi * – a stock made from dried shiitake mushrooms and kombu
If you are new to different types of dashi, check out my Ultimate Dashi Guide. Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2015. The images and recipe have been updated in April 2019.
