Name: Vegan Dashi Broth with Kombu & Shiitake » PURE Umami
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 2 strips of Kombu (seaweed) (each 2 x 10 cm); 3 Shiitake mushrooms (dried); 500 ml water (fresh, cold tap water)

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A vegan Dashi broth is a true explosion of flavor and a must for all lovers of Japanese cuisine. With just a few ingredients, this broth can be prepared in no time and adds a rich Umami note to soups, stews, and many other dishes. Why not give it a try and let yourself be inspired by this special flavor experience!

In Japanese cuisine, brodo Dashi is indispensable and one of the most important ingredients. Whether used as a base for soups, sauces or as a seasoning, brodo Dashi imparts an intense flavour to every dish and ensures that the very best is drawn out of the ingredients. A glance at Japanese recipes shows that hardly any dish can do without this basic ingredient.

There are a total of 5 different ways to prepare brodo Dashi:

Classic Dashi Broth
Katsuo Dashi with bonito flakes (Katsuobushi)
Kombu Dashi with kelp (Kombu)
Niboshi Dashi with sardines (Iriko)
Shiitake Dashi with shiitake mushrooms – vegan/vegetarian

I would particularly recommend the last option on the list! It is a vegan or vegetarian alternative to classic brodo Dashi and is made from dried Shiitake mushrooms and Kombu.

CUSTOMER FAVOURITE

Dashi Brühe Beutel 5 x 8 g (küchenfertig, vegan, ohne MSG), Fujiman

Vegane Dashi Brühe für Miso Suppe, Ramen & japanische Küche. Diese Dashi Brühe Beutel von Fujiman enthalten eine pflanzliche Mischung aus Kombu und Shiitake und…

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This version is not only very popular with vegans; we at 1mal1japan also cook it very often, as it is very easy to prepare and the flavour goes perfectly with all Japanese recipes.

Incidentally, this fish-free Dashi broth is not a recent development – quite the opposite: with the arrival of Buddhism in Japan around 1,500 years ago, it became necessary to develop a vegetarian or vegan version of the Dashi broth. Buddhist monks are known not to eat meat and were therefore not permitted to use bonito for cooking. Instead, they used Shiitake mushrooms.

Shiitake (im Shop ansehen) are tree fungi. They were originally cultivated through the felling and slash-and-burn clearing of forests. The fungal spores settled on the hewn and burnt tree trunks and began to grow.

This is made possible by the sterilisation of the trunk through fire. This provided the mushrooms with a perfect base for colonisation. Today, this method of shiitake cultivation is no longer used; instead, more environmentally friendly methods are employed. Due to their high content of natural glutamic acid, shiitake mushrooms are an excellent alternative to bonito flakes in a traditional brodo Dashi!

Alongside Shiitake mushrooms, the second key ingredient Kombu goes into our vegan brodo Dashi! Kombu is dried seaweed harvested from the cold seawater surrounding Hokkaido and northern Honshu.

In the depths of the sea, the seaweed absorbs nutrients and is washed ashore during stormy weather.

The harvesting of Kombu seaweed is subject to strict conservation regulations. Fishermen are only permitted to harvest the plant during specific months and for just three to four hours a day. The Kombu is then spread out on the beach sand to dry.

In the process, it is folded again and again and shrinks into small, retail-sized bundles. Dried Kombu continues to mature for up to five years before it is used.

Small pieces are cut out of these folded bundles (ideally using scissors) for cooking. Alongside the Shiitake mushrooms in the stock, Kombu provides a delicious Umami experience.

3 tips for using Kombu:

#1 Kombu should NEVER be washed before use. The whitish powder on the surface contains most of the flavour!
#2 When preparing Kombu, the water should NEVER be brought to the boil whilst the Kombu is still in the pan – the soup will quickly become bitter!
#3 An opened packet should be stored in an airtight container.

To make the perfect brodo Dashi, you only need a few ingredients and a little patience. First, fill a pan with cold water and add the dried Shiitake mushrooms and strips of Kombu.

Slowly heat the water to a temperature of 60°C and leave the stock to infuse for 30 minutes with the lid on. Then strain the stock through a sieve to obtain a clear stock.

The vegan Dashi broth is now ready and can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, frozen in the freezer, or used immediately in recipes. With this simple basic recipe, you can quickly prepare a delicious flavor for soups, sauces, and many other Japanese dishes.

I wish you every success and hope you enjoy cooking – if you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to use the comments section below the recipe 😊. Let’s get started:

Vegan Dashi

serves 500 ml | 40 minutes | 42 kcal

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Ingredients (1 litre)

3 strips of Kombu (5 x 10 cm) (im Shop ansehen)
6 dried shiitake mushrooms (im Shop ansehen)
1 l water (fresh, cold tap water)

You might like this:
Brodo Dashi stock bags (im Shop ansehen)

Useful tools:
Yukihiara pot
Kitchen thermometer (auf Amazon* kaufen)
2-in-1 strainer & skimmer (im Shop ansehen)

Preparation (40 minutes)

Step 1

Gather all the ingredients for the vegan Dashi broth.

Step 2

Fill a saucepan with cold water and add the dried Shiitake mushrooms and Kombu strips.

Passaggio 3

Slowly heat the water to 60°C (use a kitchen thermometer) and turn off the heat once the temperature is reached.
Remove the pan from the heat. Leave the stock to infuse for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Step 4

Remove the Shiitake mushrooms and Kombu from the stock to obtain a clear stock. Your vegan Dashi broth is now ready! You can store it in the refrigerator for a few days, freeze it, or use it immediately.