Name: Leftover Dashi Ingredients? Make Japan's Favorite Topping for Rice - Furikake
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: Kombu (roughly 2 pieces of about 10cm); Dried Bonito Flakes (Katsuobushi); 1 tbsp Soy Sauce; 1 tbsp Mirin; 1 tbsp Sake; (optional, but highly recommended) sprinkling of Sesame Seeds

Leftover Dashi Ingredients? Make Japan's Favorite Topping for Rice - Furikake-Japanese Taste

Rice seasoning Contains nuts Contains fish Contains gluten

In a previous blog post, we made a kelp and bonito flake dashi broth from scratch, which is an essential Japanese seasoning. After making this style of dashi, you will have left over kelp and bonito flakes. Maybe you're wondering, should I throw these ingredients away? Can I possibly use them for anything else? But don't worry, they are still edible, and you can make something else delicious with them! Today, let's make "Furikake" (rice seasoning) from the drained bonito flakes and kelp.

Have you heard of Furikake before? It is a common seasoning added to rice in Japan. It is also commonly used in "onigiri" or Japanese rice balls. It is savory, slightly sweet, and full of umami flavor.

Hope you enjoy the whole process of making dashi and furikake from scratch!

Overview

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Kombu (roughly 2 pieces of about 10cm)
Dried Bonito Flakes (Katsuobushi)
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Sake
(optional, but highly recommended) sprinkling of Sesame Seeds

Expert's Tip

One of the main ingredients in this furikake is bonito flakes or katsuobushi in Japanese. It is a popular ingredient for adding umami flavor and is commonly used in making dashi broth and furikake. It is also used as a topping for okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and yakisoba. You can find this ingredient in Japanese supermarkets, or online at our shop.

Instructions

1) Mincing the Furikake Ingredients

Put the leftover kelps and bonito flakes into a food processor, and mince them into tiny pieces.

2) Cooking the Ingredients

In a small sauce pan, cook the minced kelp and bonito flake mixture over medium-low heat. Be sure NOT to add any oil, as it will cause the ingredients to spoil faster. Cook the mixture until all of the humidity goes away.

3) Seasoning the Ingredients

Once the kelp and bonito become a little bit dry, add in the soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Continue cooking the mixture over a medium-low heat until all of the moisture evaporates. Make sure you keep stirring it, so it doesn't burn. Add sesame seeds into the furikake and incorporate well. Turn off the heat once sesame seeds are fully incorporated.

4) Serving and Storing the Furikake

Now, the Furikake is finished! You can use it on a topping on rice, add it to onigiri, or even add it onto popcorn. Enjoy adding this furikake to any of your favorite foods to add an extra umami-punch! You can store your homemade furikake in a glass or plastic air-tight container in the refrigerator. It will last for up to 1 month.