The best soup recipes

Dashi is a light stock, most often made from kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). It carries the umami that underpins miso soup, clear soups and simmered dishes, so most Japanese soups begin with it.

Tonjiru (also called butajiru) is a miso-based soup with thinly sliced pork and root vegetables like daikon, carrot and burdock. It is more of a hearty meal-in-a-bowl than a light starter.

Yes. A kombu-and-shiitake dashi replaces the bonito to give a fully plant-based stock with plenty of umami, and several recipes here use it.