12 Best Dashi Powder Substitutes for Asian Soups

Dashi is an important component of traditional Japanese cuisine. It’s most common in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean dishes.

Dashi is a kind of stock that is used to make your favorite Japanese soups, such as miso soup and noodle broth soup. You can also use this to make other popular Japanese dishes like okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Dashi is mostly used to enhance the umami or savory taste of food.

Dashi is typically used in the following dishes:

• Miso Soup
• Ramen Soup
• Japanese Chicken Curry
• Ika Donburi
• Shish Kebab
• Oyakodon
• Beef Udon

You may get instant dashi powder in an Asian grocery shop or in the Asian department of any big supermarket. Dashi is an essential pantry component, not just for Japanese or other Asian recipes, but also for most of your ordinary meals to enhance the taste.

But what if you forget to add dashi to your shopping list or run out when preparing your next meal? Here are some of the greatest dashi powder substitutes that can provide you with umami pleasure.

12 Best Substitute For Dashi Powder 

MSG – Monosodium Glutamate

MSG is something that is unmistakable in any Asian family, and would work nicely as a substitution for dashi powder. MSG, or Monosodium Glutamate, is a flavor enhancer that is frequently used to enhance the umami flavor of almost any cuisine.

You may not know it, but the MSG in the Chinese cuisine you constantly eating is designed to get you hooked to its flavor.

MSG is a white powder that contains glutamate, seaweed, sugar beets, and other vegetables. Because of its sodium concentration, it may also be used as a partial substitute for salt.

While there may be some concerns regarding the effects of MSG on food, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classed it as generally safe.

Soy Sauce

Soy sauce is an essential component that I’m sure every family has in their kitchen. It’s one of those things you’ll notice on your grocery list when you go shopping.

It is simple to locate, often inexpensive, and offers a broad range of options. It’s also entertaining and simple to create.

Soy sauce is a commodity item that has been used to flavor dishes for more than 2000 years. It aids in the prevention of food spoilage and preservation. Nowadays, you can acquire this at a reasonable price in any shop.

It is ideal for practically any recipe, including soups, stir-fried foods, and stews. You may also add delicious flavor to salads and dips by incorporating it into a marinade or glazed meat for your next barbecue party.

Soy sauce has a lot of antioxidants, which aid to postpone cell damage. It also helps to alleviate menopausal symptoms and improve cholesterol levels.

Chicken Broth

The majority of meats are pantry staples and are often consumed. However, leftover chicken flesh bones are an excellent alternative for dashi powder.

You may be perplexed, but chicken broth and chicken stock have distinct flavors. Chicken stock is made from roasted bones that have been boiled on the stove for hours.

The lengthy process of creating chicken stock extracts collagen from the bone, giving it a more strong taste ideal for making sauce.

Chicken broth, on the other hand, is created from flesh and bones that have been boiled on a burner for a brief period of time. The process used to make chicken broth produces a mild chicken taste that is ideal for soups.

If you wish to add extra flavor, continue to boil the chicken broth after removing all of the ingredients until it has been reduced by one-third. This procedure will take the taste to the next level.

Using chicken broth instead of dashi powder not only provides the most natural umami taste for your food, but it also helps your body create and repair bones, skin, muscles, and blood cells.

Chicken broth is recognized to be high in nutrients that the body need, such as fatty acids and protein. [Source]

Dried Shiitake Mushroom

When you don’t have any dashi powder in your cupboard, these adorable tiny mushrooms are a great substitute. Dried Shiitake Mushrooms are a simple, inexpensive, and popular ingredient.

Because it is a popular ingredient, it is readily available at most grocery shops. Aside from that, you may cultivate your own shiitake mushrooms at home and produce handmade dried shiitake mushrooms instead.

Dried shiitake mushrooms have a deep smokey flavor and a meaty flavour that emanates the rich umami flavor virtually identical to dashi powder.

It is ideal for cooking soups, grilling snacks, and boiling dishes. It is also a wonderful vegan option since it is a plant-based substance that will fulfill your tongue’s need for a meaty taste sensation.

Dried shiitake mushrooms are also high in nutrients and minerals, which may help enhance your immune system, fight cancer, and maintain your heart health. It is also good for your bones and may be included in your diet.

Kombu

Kombu is an edible seaweed that is widely used in the preparation of dashi powder. It is a marine vegetable of the brown algae family, usually known as kelp.

It contains glutamic acid, an amino acid that contributes to the umami taste of food.

To use kombu as a dashi powder replacement, rehydrate it in cold water before boiling. After cooking, kombu extract generates the desired rich umami taste and is ideal for producing your favorite soups, such as miso soup and noodle soup.

This small green monster also provides several health advantages to your body. Kombu has the ability to prevent cancer, improve thyroid function and digestion, and reduce flatulence.

It also stimulates the body’s circulation, which helps to prevent anemia.

Cube Broth

One of the brilliant life hacks you could discover while replacing dashi powder is cube broth. It’s similar to instant dashi powder, but in cube shape.

If you haven’t already, cube broth is a fantastic item to add to your shopping list to spice up the taste of your ordinary dishes.

It comes in a variety of tastes, including chicken, pig, beef, and veggie. The flavor and consistency of the cube broth may vary depending on the brand.

Cube broth is also simple to use. It is a concentrated flavored powder in the form of a cube, and only by adding it to your food, you will not miss your dashi experience because of its umami taste.

Dried Bonito Shavings/ Flakes

Katsuobushi, also known as dried bonito, is dried, smoked tuna that is often used in lieu of dashi. It has a smokey and savory flavor that is similar to dashi’s umami flavor. You may consume it as is, as a topping, or as an ingredient to enhance the fragrant flavor.

Most grocery shops offer dried bonito shavings or flakes, but you may also buy it whole and produce your own shavings.

Vegetable Soup Stock

Vegetable soup stock is created by boiling vegetables, meat, and herbs in water. Carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, and tomatoes are common components in vegetable soup stock.

Vegetable leftovers may be thrown into the saucepan to produce vegetable dashi.

The process for preparing this dashi stand in is simple and convenient for those who do not want to waste food. Glutamic acid may also be present in vegetable soup stocks, which contributes to the umami flavor sense.

Vegetable soup stocks are healthy because they include a variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K and potassium, which aid in blood coagulation and bone health.

It also includes antioxidants that are beneficial to the heart and lower the risk of infections and several types of cancer.

Mentsuyu

Mentsuyu, or noodle stock, is a well-known sauce in Japanese cuisine. It is a versatile element used in soups like as soba, udon, ramen, and somen.

Mentsuyu resembles soy sauce in appearance because it contains dried bonito, kelp, sugar, and mirin as one of its constituents. It also contains dashi, which creates glutamic acid, which gives it a savory taste.

Seafood Stock

Seafood stock resembles vegetable soup stock and chicken broth. This component is often made by cooking leftover shellfish shells such as crab, lobster, or shrimp. The seafood taste of the seafood stock lends itself well to broth and soups such as ramen.

The longevity of seafood stock is determined by whether it is preserved or not. It may be kept and refrigerated for 3-5 days. You may freeze it in your freezer for long-term storage.

Hondashi

Hondashi, which translates as “true broth,” is a soup-based component having a foundation in Japanese cookery. It is primarily used to make miso soup, sukiyaki, soba, and udon soup.

It is sold as a coarse powder and is very difficult to get outside of Asia. Hondashi is made with dried bonito shavings, kombu, tiny dried sardines, flying fish, and shiitake mushrooms. The majority of the components needed to make hondashi have an umami taste.

Kombu Tea

While most people refer to it as a tea, kombu tea or Japanese kombucha is an acceptable substitute for dashi. It is a soluble element that works well in soups and stir-fried recipes.

Some kombu teas have different tastes, such as plum, however the original seaweed kombu is excellent for cooking. You want the fermented, lightly salty taste and savory flavor of kombu for the greatest dashi experience while cooking your favorite foods.

Kombu tea also contains a lot of iron, calcium, and iodine. It has several health advantages for the body, including decreasing cholesterol, encouraging weight reduction, and improving the immune system.