Ajinomoto “Hondashi” is a staple granule soup stock powder in Japanese home cooking which is a versatile seasoning that easily and quickly adds savory flavor to the dish.
If you are looking for authentic Japanese flavor, hondashi is a must-item in your pantry.
There are many products of granule-type Japanese “dashi” powder, and “Hondashi” is a product of Ajinomoto.
You can instantly make authentic Japanese soup stock just by dissolving it in water, saving you the trouble of making the soup stock from such bonito flakes or dried dashi kelp.
Because it is a granule type, it can be seasoned by sprinkling it directly on the ingredients, and you can easily finish the seasoning of various Japanese dishes.
What’s Ajinomoto Hondashi Powder Made Of
According to the product description, it uses 3 types of carefully selected bonito flakes.
- salt (produced in Japan)
- sugars (sugar, lactose)
- bonito powder
- bonito extract
- yeast extract
- fermenting starches (monosodium glutamate)
Yeast Extract
Yeast extract is a component used in miso, soy sauce, beer, sake, wine, bread, and its main components are amino acids and Peptides.
Wheat flour may be used as raw material so it may occur allergic reactions.
MSG
Ajinomoto Hondashi contains monosodium glutamate (MSG) extracted but all from natural raw materials such as kelp, and bonito flakes.
MSG-free, additive-free Dashi Powder Products
If you are concerned about MSG, there are MSG-free and additive-free Dashi powder products available on Amazon.
Awase Dashi Powder with No MSG (Bonito and Kelp Soup Stock)
It is an “Awase-dashi” which means mixed dashi flavor and this products combine well-balanced dashi flavor from dried bonito and kelp.
MSG-free and additive-free.
As it is also a powder type, easy to use.
Food allergy notice (on Shimaya website)…Milk, wheat flour
It is made of 6 kinds of Japan-domestically produced ingredients and secret hidden ingredients-gyokuro green tea and roasted green tea. Strong dashi flavor from kelp, and it will bring mild and sensitive savory flavor like local dishes in Kyoto.
Theanine, a type of amino acid in gyokuro, enhance the umami of each ingredient.
Since Umami dashi Soup Stock does not contain MSG and additives, it is safe for children.
Also, it contains a strong umami flavor, you don’t need extra amounts of salt and other seasonings.
Easy, quick to make delicious Japanese-style stock.
Just put a dashi packet in 2.5 cups of boiled water.
SHIMAYA Natural Soup Stock Pack
It is a dashi packet that uses natural ingredients that combine the four umami flavors of bonito, kelp, dried fish, and shiitake mushrooms without adding salt or chemical seasonings.
The Guide For Hondashi Ratio
As a guide, add 2/3 teaspoon of Hon-Dashi to 300 ml (1.25 US cup).
It can also be used for Japanese “aemono” (like Gomaae) dishes and pickled recipes.
For seasoning stir-fried vegetables, add 1 tsp of hondashi per 4 servings.
When To Add Dashi Powder
The best time to add Hondashi to cook, add it into a pot at the same time as the ingredients.
In the Japanese cooking method, it is often said that root vegetables (or vegetables that grow underground) should be added to the water before boiling.
On the other hand, ingredients that don’t need a long time to be cooked such as leaf veggies, mushrooms, and also tofu, add hondashi to the boiled water.
How To Make Miso Soup With Hondashi Powder
Miso soup is one of the popular Japanese dishes using dashi broth.
Miso soup is served daily in the Japanese diet, and hondashi powder saves time a lot.
How To Make Miso Soup With Hondashi Powder
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 tbsp Hondashi powder
- 3-4 tbsp Your Choice of Miso *1)
- Your Choice of Ingredients *2)
- Your Choice of garnishies
Ingredeint Suggestions
- dried wakame seaweed
- Diced tofu
- Chopped chives or green onions *optional
Instructions
- In a middle or large pot, add harder or thick ingredients (root vegetables, raw meat, shellfishes) and the water.
- Bring the water to a boil, add Hondashi powder, and simmer the ingredients until almost cooked.
- Use a ladle to dissolve Miso. Start 3 tbsp of Miso if you are not sure how strong you like. Put miso on a ladle and soak it in dashi soup.
- Use chopsticks or spoon or folk, dissolve miso completely. Taste the soup and adjust the flavor if needed. Keep your eyes on the soup to not bring the soup over-boiled.
- Add diced tofu and heat the soup gently when you pick silk tofu. *3)
- Put a pinch of dried wakame seaweed in a soup bowl. (Don't put too much wakame seaweed. You will be shocked how much they are increased.)
- Pour Miso soup on the dashi kelp and toss chopped green onions.
Notes
- Read the post about how to make miso soup
- Read the post about how to make miso soup
- About Tofu for the miso soup, read this post.
Easy Instant Sweet Miso Soup In 10 Minutes Using Miso Sauce
Summary
Hondashi is a granule soup stock powder sold by Ajinomoto, and it’s the staple kitchen stock in Japan.
Dashi powder products have many types and Hondashi is made based on bonito dashi stock.
Hondashi is packed with Umami flavor as dashi broth.
It can save lots of time, you can make Japanese authentic dashi broth instantly.
It’s not like a dashi packet, it’s only sprinkling the boiled water and dissolving it.
You can add Hondashi when you want to add Umami flavor to a dish.
Recipes Using Hondashi Powder In Japanese Cooking
Sauce
Vegetable Dishes
Main Dishes
- Yakitori Oyakodon
- Wafu Spaghetti With Chicken Yakitori Leftovers
Recipes are here, in this post. ⇊
