Sa-shi-su-se-so
Seasoning ratios
The figure
8 : 1 : 1
Simmering is dashi 8 : soy 1 : mirin 1. That is the golden ratio.
The order
Sa, shi, su, se, so: sugar, salt, vinegar, soy, miso. Sugar goes first because its molecules are large and slow to penetrate. Soy and miso go last because their aroma is the point, and heat drives it off.
Sake and mirin go in before the sugar, so the alcohol cooks off while they soak in.
One ratio covers most of it
Dashi 8 : soy 1 : mirin 1. This is the golden ratio for simmering, and it is the same shape as happo-dashi.
To make it stronger, reduce the dashi rather than adding soy. Donburi sauce closes to 4, the steeping liquid for greens opens to 10, oden goes to 12. The shape never changes — only the dashi number moves.
- Light (oden, noodle broth) — dashi 12 / soy 1 / mirin 1
- Steeping liquid (ohitashi, greens) — dashi 10 / usukuchi 1 / mirin 1
- Standard (most nimono, chikuzen-ni, nikujaga) — dashi 8 / soy 1 / mirin 1
- Strong (donburi sauce, oyakodon) — dashi 4 / soy 1 / mirin 1
- Simmered fish — sake 6 / soy 1 / mirin 1 (built on sake, not dashi)
Miso soup
Miso is 8–10 % of the dashi by weight: 15 to 18 g in a 180 ml bowl. A little more for white miso, a little less for red. Do not boil it.
To cut the salt, strengthen the dashi before you weaken the miso. More umami means less salt is needed.