Dashi provides the base to many Japanese dishes and it brings out the umami (savouriness) so essential to Japanese cuisine through the ingredients described here, katsuobushi, hoshi-shiitake and konbu. Those ingredients are often mixed to create deeper and authentic flavor. By combining different kinds of umami, the umami taste is significantly magnified.

Japanese rice is a kind of rice known as short-grain sticky rice. All traditional Japanese dishes naturally go well with Japanese rice. If you don’t have a rice cooker at home, try cooking with a saucepan and gas stove. It is easy and simple. Follow a few tips so that you can enjoy Japanese rice at the perfect texture and stickiness.