Question for Japanese people about authentic dashi?

I am vegan and I make dashi. I use simmer dried shiitake and kombu (i never boil it) and then I strain to make dashi. I can't use bonito flakes as I am vegan. My question is this, I also have instant vegan bouillon. Can I use that instead of having to make the dashi with dried shiitake and kombu everytime. Vegan bouillon disolves in water and is much quicker. The reason I make the dashi is for my miso soup and other recipes that call for dashi. I want my food to be authentic Japanese, but sometimes I don't feel like making dashi from scratch (homemade). It is just a lot easier to use my vegan buillon or vegan soup powder. I can't buy the instant dashi at the asian market, because alll the instant dashis have bonito flakes or some type of fish ingredient. Is it okay to use Knorr soup bouillon in my japanese recipes?Question for Japanese people about authentic dashi?
The short answer is that most store bullion or vegan soup powder probably has too much salt to be good for Japanese recipes. This is true especially if you're making miso soup, since all the salt should be coming from the miso.



Shojin dashi takes much less effort than regular dashi in some ways, since you're just supposed to soak shiitake, kombu, and roasted soy beans in cold water in the refrigerator for 24 hours, and that's it. After straining, the dashi should be good for at least three days in the refrigerator, and it should last for a week with a dab of salt.Question for Japanese people about authentic dashi?
OK. I'm one of the Japanese people, so let me try to answer your question though I'm more into French cooking than Japanese cooking...



I do not know what that particular instant bouillon is like, but generally, instant bouillon stuff contains a lot of salt, so make sure not to season your dish with too much salt when you cook.



I suggest two methods to cook with instant bouillon. (You are talking about bouillon cubes, right?)



1) Make dashi with instant bouillon. That is, you dissolve a bouillon cube in water. Boil it with small amount of shiitake/konbu for a short period of time. This enhances the flavors.



2) Use instant bouillon to season while cooking, just like salt and pepper. In this way, the end product will not be too artificial/instant or too salty. It is easier to control the flavor this way.



Oh, one more thing, I like shiitake, but have you tried shimeji mushrooms? It has a very peculiar aroma, almost like garlic when you saute it with butter. I love them in des escargots a la Burguignon...if you can eat snails...They are nice in miso soup too.



If you have enoki mushrooms, they should immediately go into your vegetable stir fry. Nice noodle like texture. Not so much flavor, though.



Three mushrooms we often use in Japan are shiitake, enoki and shimeji.

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