Ever had trouble finding Japanese recipes that were easy to make?
We now have "cooking Japanese with ease", our full recipe book and video course with step-by-step tutorials on your favorite recipes.
But, there is a great dashi stock recipe if you want to make dashi at home.
For this recipe, we’re using all the traditional dashi stock ingredients like kombu and katsuobushi.
After all, kombu and katsuobushi dashi is the original one and it gives that dried kelp umami flavor Japanese cooks always prefer.

In this post we'll cover:
Traditional kombu & katsuobushi dashi stock recipe
Equipment
- medium pot
Ingredients
- 1 piece dried kombu kelp
- 1 cup katsuobushi dried bonito flakes
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Prepare all your ingredients. Don't wash off the kombu, even if there is a white powdery substance on it because this gives it that intense umami flavor.
- Using kitchen shears, cut the kombu in half, and then for each piece, cut some slits into the kombu until you reach the middle. About 3 slits per piece is enough to release more flavor into the broth.
- In a medium pot, add the water and the kombu.
- Heat the water on low to medium heat for approximately 10 minutes until it is almost at a boil.
- Use a skimmer or spoon to remove any bubbly foam from the top of the dashi.
- As the mixture starts to boil, remove the kombu pieces and throw them away.
- Add all the katsuobushi and bring the mixture to a boil.
- As soon as the dashi boils, turn down the heat and simmer for about 30-40 seconds. Turn off the heat.
- Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the dashi into a clean bowl or jar. The dashi stock is ready for use.
Nutrition
Ever had trouble finding Japanese recipes that were easy to make?
We now have "cooking Japanese with ease", our full recipe book and video course with step-by-step tutorials on your favorite recipes.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.