I grew up eating this stuff in many different kinds of Japanese soup. Then for years I avoided it because it had MSG. A few years ago I read an article that claimed that MSG is basically safe to eat and then did research to verify it. Lo and behold, it is true that almost all medical studies support the idea that there is nothing bad about adding moderate amounts of MSG to food and the popular belief that it is dangerous amounts to ignorant "folk lore."

That said, Hon Dashi soup stock is a wonderful base for making ramen, udon, ozoni etc.,. You can also add a little bit to chicken broth (as a base for any soup) to supercharge the broth with the taste that the Japanese call umami. Do yourself a favor and google umami to get a good idea of the importance of this flavor.

While not as good as "made from scratch" dashi, this package provides a quick and convenient way of getting 90% of the authentic flavor while saving time. Put it in a small jar after opening and you can keep it for quite a long time.

This is the best Hon Dashi i have used (except for my home made)! I make Miso soup frequently and don't have a lot of free time. This is wonderful product. You can adjust the strength easily to suit your taste. Delivery was fast, quality is great Price is fantastic! Give this a try, you won't be sorry. Highly recommend this product!

I finally decided this is my go to dashi base. I use it primarily for miso soup base, but also use it for ramen and udon noodle bases too. However, I typically go with the Ajinomoto jar. It's almost double this price but keeps longer.

I was always going between this and the jar (Ajinomoto always!) because it is almost double the price as these sachets. However, the jar keeps my dashi more fresh. Which makes it last longer.

I do between 1/3 and 1 tsp of dashi per 1 cup of water. 1/3 for my daughters, 1/2 for my wife, and 1 tsp for me. Then I use between 1 and 2 tbsp of miso paste. White for the kids, 1 tbsp white and 1 tbsp red for the wife, and 2 tbsp red for me.

I'll boil the dashi, add any veggies, remove from heat, then add the miso.

In any case, this dashi powder is 85-90% as good as Bonito flakes. The jar is totally worth the almost double the price of the sachets, the only time I'll buy the sachets is when I'm cooking for a group of friends, otherwise I find if I'm not finishing the whole sachet in a week to a week and a half, it starts to lose flavor and starts to taste like my fridge. With the jar, I can keep the jar for months with no issue.

Buy with confidence!

Use 1/3 of a teaspoon per 8 ounces. Slightly sweet slightly fishy broth, I do like it. Much easier than making fish broth from bonita flakes. I use it for miso soup. Would buy again.

This is the best soup stock for Miso soup at home. Unless you are boiling kombu seaweed and tuna bones to make a broth, this is the ticket. Use this base and then mix in miso paste for authentic miso soup. We like to add udon noodles and wakeame seaweed (rehydrated) as well as the soft tofu cut in tiny squares. Healthy and delicious and a real hearty, and vegetarian (fish eating vegetarian) alternative to chicken soup.