From the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | |
| Small eggplants | 2 |
| Cucumber | 1 |
| Myoga | 2 |
| Ginger (as you like) | 1 piece |
| Green perilla (shiso) | 4 leaves |
| Green onion | 1/2 |
| Green chili (as you like) | 2 |
| Bonito flakes | as needed |
| Seasonings and liquids | |
| Dashi soy sauce | as needed |
Dashi is a regular summer dish of Yamagata that lets people eat vegetables raw, with no cooking. It is said to have been eaten mainly in the Murayama area, surrounded by mountains, where summers are hot and humid, and it is still part of daily life there.
When the heat takes away the appetite, people chop summer vegetables full of water, such as cucumber and eggplant, together with fragrant ones such as green perilla and myoga, and season them. It has long been a quick dish for the busy farming season.
There are many stories. One is that it is called dashi because, like soup stock, it brings out the taste of other foods. Another is that the word comes from “dasu” (to put out), because the vegetables are cut small with a knife. A third is that it is called dashi because you chop vegetables, season them and “put them out” on the table in a moment.
People say there are “a hundred tastes in a hundred houses.” The basic ingredients are eggplant and cucumber, and some add green perilla, myoga or green onion, and some add onion. Some mix in yam, okra or chopped kombu (nattō-kombu) to make it sticky.
The basic seasoning is soy sauce, but some use noodle sauce or soy sauce with dashi stock.
It is often served in a large bowl, and each person takes as much as they like and puts it on rice. Dashi is also put on cold tofu, or added as a garnish to the dipping sauce for somen or soba. Some restaurants serve “dashi pasta” or “dashi pizza,” or put dashi on carpaccio. For children, corn or edamame is said to be popular. It is also eaten as it is with drinks.
Families still make it, and supermarkets and farm stands sometimes sell handmade dashi. It is also a popular souvenir from Yamagata.
There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.