A Dash of Dashi: The Secret to Umami

Talk & Tasting

Tuesday, March 12, 6:30 PM

If you’ve eaten Japanese food, you’ve almost certainly had dashi. This broth is a fundamental element of Japanese cooking, imparting that elusive umami quality to many beloved dishes, from home cooking to haute cuisine. Kombu (kelp), shiitake mushrooms, katsuobushi (dried bonito)—so many flavorful ingredients can be the base for this simple yet essential broth. At this talk, Chef Mitsuru Kita, Japanese food consultant and owner of Cook de Kita LLC, discusses dashi flavor profiles, ingredients and cooking tips.

Followed by a tasting reception featuring three umami-rich dashi varieties:

Kombu Dashi (kelp)
Katsuobushi & Kombu Dashi (dried bonito & kelp)
Shojin Dashi (shiitake, kombu & soybeans)

Each dashi is made with the highest-quality kombu from Hokkaido.

This program will be presented in Japanese with consecutive interpretation in English.

Tickets: $21/$17 members, seniors & students

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Mitsuru Kita was born in Osaka, Japan. He enjoyed his life with his close friends but always had dreamed to spread his wings outside of his small world. When he was 23 years old, he decided to fly away from his comfortable world and immigrated to US to look for stimulation. He became a Hibachi chef at Inatome Japanese Steak House in Long Island. He cooked food on hibachi grill in front of customers and entertained them with his knife-wielding and shaker performance. After working at Inatome for 8 years, he became a chef at Hakubai Restaurant, one of the best high-end Japanese restaurants in New York City. He was introduced to Kaiseki cuisine and trained under Executive Chef Yukihiro Sato for 10 years. Now, he works as a Japanese food consultant, private chef and Japanese food cooking class instructor to introduce and spread old Japanese tradition, culture and art through Japanese cuisine to the world.