Tsuyu no moto is one of the most useful bottles a Japanese kitchen can keep, a concentrated soup base that brings together the three pillars of Japanese seasoning, soy sauce, dashi of bonito and kelp, and sweet mirin, in a single, balanced liquid. This one comes from Ninben, a venerable Tokyo house celebrated for its mastery of katsuobushi and dashi, which lends the base an authentic, deeply savoury foundation that would take considerable time to build from scratch.

Dark and glossy, it delivers a rich, rounded umami tempered by the gentle sweetness of mirin, the savoury backbone of countless Japanese dishes ready in an instant. Because it is concentrated, it is diluted with water before use, and the beauty of the format lies in that flexibility, mixed strong for a dipping sauce, or generously loosened for a soup, the same bottle adapts to whatever the dish requires.

Its uses run right across the menu. Diluted lightly it becomes the broth for hot or cold soba and udon, mixed richer it is the classic dipping sauce for zaru noodles and tempura, and it seasons simmered nimono dishes, rice bowls such as oyakodon, and quick dressings with equal ease.

Why choose Sea House Concentrated Soup Base?

• Three seasonings in one. Soy sauce, dashi, and mirin balanced into a single, ready to use base.
• An authentic dashi pedigree. Made by Ninben, a historic Japanese house renowned for bonito and dashi.
• Flexible by dilution. Mix strong for dipping or light for soup, one bottle for many dishes.
• Endlessly versatile. For soba and udon broths, tempura and noodle dipping sauces, simmered dishes, and dressings.
• Handmade depth, ready made speed. The character of a scratch dashi base with professional consistency, in a 1L bottle.