Dashi
/ˈdɑː.ʃi/noun
A Japanese cooking stock traditionally made by extracting flavor from ingredients such as kombu seaweed, bonito flakes, or dried mushrooms.
Did you know?The kanji 出汁 combines 出し, meaning “extracting” or “drawing out,” with 汁, meaning “juice” or “liquid,” so dashi is literally a liquid drawn from ingredients.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Japanese
Japanese
dasu
“to take out, put forth, or extract”
Pre-modern Japanese
Japanese
dashi
“something extracted or drawn out”
Edo Period
Japanese
出し汁 (dashijiru)
“liquid extracted from food; cooking stock”
Modern Japanese
Japanese
出汁 (dashi)
“Japanese soup stock or savory broth”
20th Century
English
dashi
“a Japanese stock used as a foundational cooking ingredient”