"Do you make dashi from scratch when you cook Japanese cuisine?"

If you're one of those Japanese food lovers who said yes, we're delighted you've chosen to read this article. And if you're not, we're excited for the opportunity to tell you more about dashi and this amazingly convenient pot you can use to make it!

We understand that all grape Japan readers don't know about dashi, let alone prepare Japanese cuisine at home, so it would be remiss of us if we didn't explain a few things beforehand.

Dashi 出汁 is one of the most essential elements of Japanese cuisine. It's a family of stocks forming the base of everything from miso soup, clear broths, noodle soup broths, and mixed into countless other dishes. The simplest dashi is only made with two ingredients: kombu seaweed and katsuobushi 鰹節 dried bonito, a fish related to tuna. The kombu usually comes dried, and unless you have a special shaving tool at home, you'll probably get your bonito in the form of pre-shaved kezuri-bushi 削り節 flakes.

The sodium inosinate in katsuobushi synergizes with the plentiful glutamic acids in kombu to deliver a wallop of umami, that popular fifth taste that makes food taste great.

Dashi is enjoying somewhat of a boom in recent years, with everything from bottled dashi vending machines to pour-over style dashi bars to canned ready-to-drink hot dashi products appearing on the market.

Nothing compares to genuine dashi stock brewed freshly from real katsuobushi and kombu, but since it's a bit of a hassle to prepare just right, many people simply use a granulated form of dashi instead.

But if you have this "Microwaveable Delicious Dashi Pot," you'll be able to easily brew the perfect dashi stock and then conveniently store dashi in the refrigerator once you're done. If you enjoy cooking full meals, freeing up your stove to prepare other dishes can be very convenient, especially if you only have a small stovetop to work with.

One of our writers at our sister site Grape, who enjoys miso soup and other broths with her meals, decided to take one home and see just how convenient it is.

The Microwaveable Delicious Dashi Pot

As the name suggests, this pot allows you to easily make delicious dashi stock in the microwave. The set comes with a lid, a straining net, the pot, and a recipe book.

Just put your kombu, katsuobushi flakes or other dashi ingredients in the pot with water and heat it up in the microwave to make authentic dashi.

Then, all you need to do is pour the hot dashi over a bowl with a dollop of miso paste in it, stir well, and you have yourself a delicious miso soup.

The straining net is made of a high-density mesh, which makes it possible to obtain a translucent, golden-colored dashi.

The pot is made from a type of unbreakable plastic safe enough to be used for baby bottles. It's also transparent, so you can clearly see the color of the dashi.

The recipe book included in the set is supervised by Ms. Takayo Ishikawa, a culinary expert specializing in seasonings.

Ever since it was introduced on the TV Asahi variety show 『家事ヤロウ!!!』kaji yarō (Housework Guys), the Microwaveable Delicious Dashi Pot has been gaining attention.

Making dashi with the Microwaveable Delicious Dashi Pot

"I usually can't be bothered to do anything, but I tried to make dashi using this gadget," the writer said.

Dashi making challenge

Looking at the recipe book, the writer decided to make traditional dashi with kombu and kezuri-katsuo."

First, cut the kombu into 4 cm (1.5") strips and put them in the strainer.

If you put all the katsuobushi into the strainer as is, it will overflow from the mesh, so the key is to push them down as you pour it in.

"I pushed them down gently so that they wouldn't overflow."

When the ingredients are all in, just put it in the microwave. You don't need to cover the pot with the lid at this time.

While it's heating up, prepare the miso soup.

"I got a request: 'I want to have o-sumashi (clear broth)!' so I decided to make both miso soup and o-sumashi."

No problem. Following the recipe book, she put some miso paste in one bowl and a bit of soy sauce in the other for the o-sumashi お澄まし (also known as sumashi-jiru すまし汁 or suimono 吸い物). She put some instant/dried wakame seaweed in both bowls for the garnish.

"When I took it out of the microwave oven, being careful not to burn myself, I could smell the delicious aroma of dashi."

Just tilt the straining net 45 degrees, to pour out the contents, and voila!

The tabs at the bottom of the straining net fit on the top of the pot, allowing the stock to fully drain out.

Once it's fully drained, all you have to do is pour the hot dashi into your bowl and your soup is ready.

"The flavor and aroma of the dashi was richer than usual," the writer declared.

"Normally, I wouldn't make miso soup and o-sumashiat the same time, but with the Microwaveable Delicious Dashi Pot, I can easily make both whenever I need to."

Any leftover soup stock can be stored in the refrigerator with the lid on.

If you store your dashi in the refrigerator, you can easily enjoy delicious miso soup or o-sumashi whenever you need it by simply reheating it in the microwave.

"On another day, I made dashi with kombu and niboshi 煮干し (dried sardines), and added it in the rice cooker with rice and corn for takikomi gohan 炊き込みご飯, steamed seasoned rice."

Now that you can make dashi easily, you can try other Japanese dishes too. Some dishes are considered time-consuming and a hassle to make, but part of the hassle is making the dashi for the base, so the process becomes easier once dashi is so easy to make. You can try your hand at nimono 煮物 (simmered vegetables), for example.

Easy to clean up!

The writer was glad to see she could make dashi easily, but she was still concerned about the cleanup.

"I was thinking: 'I'm going to have a hard time disposing of all the ingredients that went into making the dashi.' "

"The dashi ingredients all came out!"

The bottom of the straining net can be removed, so you can get rid of all the dregs without getting your hands dirty. It's also dishwasher-safe, so cleanup is a breeze!

"Even though I usually can't be bothered to do it, I think I can easily make authentic dashi with the Microwaveable Delicious Dashi Pot. Can I keep it?"

The recipes included in the recipe book include "Dashi Miso Ramen," "Tomato Dashi Risotto," and many more.

Why not add some umami in your life and expand your cooking repertoire with the Microwaveable Delicious Dashi Pot?