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Niban Dashi (二番だし, second dashi)
Created by Chef Takumi
Niban dashi is thrift with standards: the second pull from konbu and bonito, less perfumed than the first stock, but round enough for simmered dishes.
The quiet genius of niban dashi is that it begins with what another cook might throw away. Konbu and katsuobushi have already given their first, most fragrant flavor to ichiban dashi. They are not finished. They only need a longer conversation with the water.
This is the stock for nimono, miso soup, and the dishes that cook a little longer. It doesn't need the perfume of the first pull. It needs body, steadiness, and enough depth to carry soy sauce, miso, or a sweet simmering broth without disappearing. We simmer it gently because the ingredients are already spent on the surface, and the remaining flavor sits deeper.
The one detail that decides it is restraint at the end. Add a small fresh handful of katsuobushi to wake the stock, then strain without squeezing. Press the flakes and you force out rough, oily flavors. Let them drip on their own and you keep the dashi honest. Nothing hidden, nothing wasted.
Ingredients
used konbu from ichiban dashi
Quantity
1 piece
about 10g dry weight before first use
used katsuobushi from ichiban dashi
Quantity
about 20g
saved after straining first dashi
cold water
Quantity
5 cups
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| used konbu from ichiban dashiabout 10g dry weight before first use | 1 piece |
| used katsuobushi from ichiban dashisaved after straining first dashi | about 20g |
| cold water | 5 cups |
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