Bonito flakes

Katsuobushi ‘smoked bonito flakes’ are a key ingredient in traditional Japanese cuisine. Plunged into a kombu infusion and then heated, these pinkish flakes produce the seminal broth of Japanese culinary tradition: dashi. This powerful umami decoction is the basis for miso soup, ramen and many sauces, including ponzu and tsuyu. It’s impossible to cook truly Japanese food without it!

The process of making katsuobushi is long and delicate. Fillets of skipjack tuna (and only skipjack tuna) are boiled in water and then smoked for days (sometimes two weeks). They are then dried and brushed with spores of noble moulds from the Aspergillus family, which includes the famous koji, and left to dry in the sun for a fortnight. At the end of the process, the fillets are as hard as wood, red and translucent like ruby… And they have a delicious smell.

Katsuobushi is a natural flavour enhancer – a much sought-after quality in Japan. It is therefore sometimes used as a seasoning, especially in octopus dumplings (takoyaki) and omelettes (okonomiyaki). The heat waves make the bonito shavings ‘dance’ across the dish… A hypnotic movement that’s hard to forget.