Dashi (出汁, だし) is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine.

[1] Dashi is also mixed into the flour base of some grilled foods like okonomiyaki and takoyaki.

The most common form of dashi is a simple broth made by heating water containing kombu (edible kelp) and kezurikatsuo (shavings of katsuobushi – preserved, fermented skipjack tuna or bonito) to near-boiling, then straining the resultant liquid; dried anchovies or sardines may be substituted.

[3] Granulated or liquid instant dashi largely replaced the homemade product in the second half of the 20th century.

[4] Other kinds of dashi are made by soaking kelp, niboshi, or shiitake in water for many hours or by heating them in near-boiling water and straining the resulting broth.