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dashi

American  
[dah-shee] / ˈdɑ ʃi /

noun

  1. a clear fish and kelp broth, used in Japanese cooking.


dashi British  
/ ˈdaʃɪ /

noun

  1. a clear stock made from dried fish and kelp

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dashi

First recorded in 1945–50; from Japanese: literally, “broth,” shortening of dashi-jiru, equivalent to dashi “to draw, extract” + jiru, shiru “broth, juice”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The meal begins with seasonal vegetables dressed with dashi and soy, followed by a presentation of the whole fish you’ll soon be eating.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

They added their customers’ favorites to the menu and encouraged staff members to add their own dishes, such as oroshi soba — buckwheat noodles topped with dashi, grated daikon, green onions and seaweed.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2023

"The basis of almost every Japanese sauce is dashi, a stock made from seaweed," he said.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2023

Miso soup, too, becomes pretty much lyrical, made with Saito’s own year-fermented paste and multi-fish-based dashi, smoky yet light.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2022

Then, too, there are the dashi, or floats, on one of which each street in the parish spends its money and its ingenuity.

From Japanese Girls and Women Revised and Enlarged Edition by Bacon, Alice Mabel