Kombu

Japanese Seaweed (dried)

Kombu

昆布 (Japanese)

Also called Dried kelp · Dashi kombu

Pure, gentle umami with a faint sea sweetness; no fishiness.

What it is

Dried kelp from the cold waters of Hokkaido, the vegetable half of dashi and a seasoning in its own right.

How it tastes

Pure, gentle umami with a faint sea sweetness; no fishiness.

  • Savoury/Umami

How to use it

Wipe, do not wash, then steep in cold or gently heated water for dashi; add a piece to the pot when cooking rice or beans for depth. Do not boil, which turns it bitter and slimy.

  • Base/Stock

Where it comes from

Harvested in summer and sun-dried on the beaches of Hokkaido, kombu was traded south for centuries along the kombu road to Osaka and Kyoto, which is why Kansai cooking leans so heavily on it.

Tasted and scored by us · the same axes as every product page How it tastes · four axes

Sweet
Faint
Heat
None
Salt
Sea salt, natural
Sour
None

Salt is a formulation property; on a raw ingredient it is read from the ingredient itself.

Across cuisines · not a substitute

Recipes arrive with the shelf

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Products that contain it

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