Dashi is essential in the Japanese kitchen. It is a stock, basically, made from dried seaweed and dried tuna (bonito), that is used in a wide range of Japanese dishes.

This recipe yields more than you will need for the miso soup in this party, but you’ll need some for the dipping sauces. Keep the extra dashi on hand for more soup later on. Dashi can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen for about a month. By the way, perhaps the only acceptable powdered stock of any kind I’ve ever used is dashi powder, a wonderful shortcut available at all Japanese groceries (as is the konbu and dried bonito you’ll need to make dashi from scratch).