Where to buy dashi and miso paste: find out my top choices!

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When it comes to making miso soup, there are two ingredients that you need to include: the first is dashi, and the second is miso paste.

Without these 2 ingredients, you won’t have a dish that’s remotely close to miso soup, or anything that could be called a soup for that matter!

These 2 ingredients are where a lot of the savory and rich flavor of miso soup comes from. So it’s important to NOT forget them!

Where to buy dashi and miso paste

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Where can I buy dashi and miso paste?

If you don’t feel like taking the time to make them yourself, you always have the easy option of going out and buying premade dashi and miso paste from stores like these that sell both. Often, these ingredients can be found in your local grocery store. To be more specific, you’ll usually find dashi and miso paste in the Asian aisle.

If, for some reason, your grocery store doesn’t have an Asian aisle, or the selection in the aisle is terrible, you also have the option of purchasing these ingredients from a special store that sells Asian food and ingredients specifically.

Of course, if all else fails, you’ll likely be able to find dashi and miso paste on Amazon. As odd as that option may sound, Amazon offers an impressive selection of ingredients and non-perishable food. One or more of the options above will allow you to get the dashi and miso paste that you need.

Read up on the saltiness of dashi here as well, if you’re wondering if it’s healthy or not.

Can’t I just buy miso paste that’s already been mixed with dashi?

Generally, that isn’t an option when it comes to making miso soup. Dashi and miso paste are very different ingredients and they aren’t necessarily something that can come premade.

This is especially the case since both ingredients are very different in their consistency. Miso paste is, as the name implies, a paste. Dashi, on the other hand, is like soup stock, so it has a more liquid consistency. However, this isn’t always the case since instant dashi powder is also sold at stores.

That said, it’s often easier just to buy dashi and miso paste as is. Then, once you have both, you mix however much you need in order to make miso soup. Obviously, the amount you need will depend on how much miso soup you’re making, but you’ll need to make sure that you have these 2 ingredients to accomplish that.

Also read: this is dashi infused miso paste and how to use it

How to make dashi

If you’d like to make your own dashi, it’s actually very easy to do. Watch this video for a quick tutorial:

Basically, you need 1 piece of kombu (which is dried kelp), 1 cup of katsuobushi (the name for dried bonito flakes), and 4 cups of water. Cut a few slits into the kombu.

Put the water and kombu at almost a boil for 10 minutes. Make sure to skim the surface often. Right before the mixture boils, remove the kombu and then add the katsuobushi.

Bring the mixture to a boil, simmer for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. After all the katsuobushi’s sunk (about 10 minutes), strain the mixture.

Store the dashi in a bottle and put it in the refrigerator if you’re not using it immediately.

Enjoy your miso soup

Now you know where to buy dashi and miso. And as an added bonus, I’ve also shown you how to make dashi on your own!

Whichever method you prefer, you’re sure to enjoy miso soup as a hot treat!

Check out our new cookbook

Bitemybun's family recipes with complete meal planner and recipe guide.

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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.