Do you think Japanese food is hard to make at home?

Kaa-chan will be honest. Making proper dashi from scratch? Maybe a few times a year — if that. The rest of the time, mentsuyu and dashi packets are doing all the work. Carefully crafted dashi-based dishes? That's what restaurants are for. Kaa-chan is happy to leave that to the professionals! 😄

If you want to recreate delicious Japanese flavors at home, get mentsuyu and dashi packets in your kitchen.

Start Here: The 2 Things That Change Everything

These are the two things Kaa-chan always has on hand.

Mentsuyu (Kaa-chan's favorite is Soumi no Tsuyu)

A Japanese all-purpose seasoning made from dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Originally designed as a dipping sauce for somen and udon, but it works just as well in simmered dishes, grilled dishes, and marinades. The 3x concentrate type has dilution guidelines on the back of the bottle — use those as a starting point.

👉 [Affiliate link placeholder: Soumi no Tsuyu]

Dashi Packets (Kaa-chan's favorite is Kayanoya Dashi)

Just drop one in hot water like a tea bag, and you get proper, flavorful dashi. The ingredients are blended in a nice balance — honestly, it tastes good enough to drink on its own.

👉 [Affiliate link placeholder: Kayanoya Dashi]

Here are some easy recipes using these two things. If you want to start small, just get the mentsuyu and try the first two recipes. And of course, any brand of mentsuyu or dashi packets will work just fine!

Recipe 1: Grilled Summer Vegetables in Dashi Marinade (夏野菜の焼き浸し)

Time: About 30 minutes (plus chilling time)Seasoning: Mentsuyu only

Ingredients (serves 2–3)

  • 2 Japanese eggplants
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 bell pepper (red, yellow, or your choice)
  • 8–10 green beans
  • 3 tbsp mentsuyu
  • 6 tbsp water
  • A drizzle of sesame oil (optional)
  • Oil for cooking

Instructions

Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook until lightly browned. Mix the mentsuyu and water in a shallow container or tray. Add the hot vegetables straight from the pan and let them soak. Once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, drizzle a little sesame oil over the top for extra flavor.

Kaa-chan's Note

This one is great for meal prep. It keeps in the fridge for 2–3 days, and the longer it chills, the more the flavor soaks in. Kaa-chan's favorite way is to make it the night before and eat it the next day.

Any vegetables work. Mushrooms, pumpkin, asparagus — all delicious.

Recipe 2: Teriyaki Chicken (鶏の照り焼き)

Time: About 25 minutesSeasoning: Mentsuyu only

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 2 chicken thighs, skin-on
  • 3 tbsp mentsuyu
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp sake (dry white wine works too; water is fine if you prefer to skip the alcohol)
  • A little oil for cooking

Instructions

Mix the mentsuyu, sugar, and sake (or white wine) to make the sauce. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken skin-side down over medium heat. Once the skin is golden and crispy, flip and add the sauce. When the sauce starts to bubble, coat the chicken and continue cooking until the sauce thickens. Serve, and pour any remaining sauce from the pan over the top.

Kaa-chan's Note

Sake is the original choice, but dry white wine works well if you can't find it. Sweet wine changes the flavor, so avoid that. And if you'd rather skip the alcohol entirely, water is fine too.

For a bolder flavor, try adding some grated garlic to the sauce. My son is firmly on team garlic. Adjust to whoever you're cooking for!

Now, Add the Dashi Packets

Once you've tried those two recipes, bring in the dashi packets.

Just simmer in hot water according to the packet instructions. All that umami from the ingredients dissolves right out — proper dashi, just like that.

Kaa-chan sometimes makes it a little strong, adds a pinch of salt, and drinks it as a nightcap after coming home from a night out. It's gentle on the stomach and incredibly comforting. Honestly, it might be the clearest way to understand what dashi really is.

The next recipe uses dashi made from these packets.

Recipe 3: Udon Noodle Soup (うどん)

Time: About 15 minutesSeasoning: Dashi packets + mentsuyu

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 2 portions dried udon noodles
  • 1 dashi packet
  • 600ml water
  • 3 tbsp mentsuyu

Instructions

Bring water to a boil in a pot and simmer the dashi packet according to the packet instructions. Remove the packet, add mentsuyu, and adjust to taste. In a separate pot, cook the udon according to the package directions, rinse with water, and place in bowls. Pour the dashi broth over the top and you're done.

To serve cold, just chill the broth in the fridge beforehand.

Kaa-chan's Note

Try making udon with just mentsuyu first, then try it again with a dashi packet added. Mentsuyu already has dashi in it — but when you add more through the packet, the layers of umami in the broth go noticeably deeper. That's what dashi does.

Bonus: Make Your Own Mentsuyu with Dashi Packets

For anyone who wants to try it!

With dashi packets, soy sauce, and mirin, you can make your own mentsuyu from scratch.

Homemade Mentsuyu (easy batch)

  • 2 dashi packets
  • 400ml water
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp mirin

※ For more on mirin, check out 👉 [Internal link: Mirin article]

Put water and dashi packets in a pot and bring to a simmer. Follow the packet instructions for timing. Remove the packets, add soy sauce and mirin, and bring to a brief boil. Done. Keeps in the fridge for up to one week.

※ The amounts of soy sauce and mirin will vary depending on the brand of dashi packets and your personal taste — adjust as you go.

Kaa-chan's Note

In my case, this is something Kaa-chan makes when the mentsuyu runs out. That's about the level of occasion it calls for — nothing fancy!

— Mogu Mogu Kaa-chanA Japanese mom who keeps mentsuyu and dashi packets in the kitchen at all times — and has no shame about it.

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