The market · Fish and seafood · East Asia

Katsuobushi

Skipjack tuna fillets simmered, smoked over wood again and again, and dried until they're hard as a plank — the best are then cured with mould for months. Shaved, they make dashi with kombu, and top okonomiyaki and cold tofu.

smoky · woody · savoury · fishy

What to do with it

Kenji Hara's Sourdough, 100% ryeKatsuobushi would give it depthIbu Sari's Beef rendangKatsuobushi would give it depthAna Etxarri's ChawanmushiKatsuobushi would season itRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleKatsuobushi would give it depth
Classics built on it
JapaneseOkonomiyakiA thick savoury pancake of batter and shredded cabbage with pork belly, cooked on a griddle and finished with sweet-sour sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and bonito flakes.No one here has made it yetJapaneseGōyā chanpurūBitter melon stir-fried with firm tofu, pork and egg — Okinawa's everyday dish, bitter, savoury and soft at once.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Arabushi
Smoked only — smokier and sharper; most bagged flakes.
Karebushi
Mould-cured too — rounder, cleaner and deeper.
Itokezuri
Thread-thin shavings, for garnish.

If you can't find it

Japanese grocers, in bags of shavings.

  1. 1Dried anchovy
    A small handful in the stock, strained out
    You lose the smoke; it's fishier and rounder.

Goes with

kombusoy saucespinachtofu

Knowing it

Where to buy
Japanese grocers, in bags of flakes; or a whole block and a shaving box. Once open, keep flakes airtight — the aroma fades in days.
A little history
Its savoury compound, inosinate, was identified by a student of Kikunae Ikeda's, a few years after Ikeda found glutamate in kombu.
Worth knowing
For dashi, add it to kombu dashi just off the boil, wait a minute or two until the flakes sink, then strain without squeezing — squeezing clouds it and makes it fishy.

Kitchens that keep it in

JapanJapaneseA cooking of restraint and season, built on dashi — and on letting one ingredient taste as much of itself as it can.10 classics · 2 cooked here

More fish and seafood

Fish and seafoodAnchoviessalty, savoury, brinysavouryrichsalty1 classicFish and seafoodBottargabriny, waxy, rich, ambersavouryrichsaltyNot cooked here yetFish and seafoodCrabssweet, briny, delicate3 classicsFish and seafoodCuttlefishsweet, dense, brinyNot cooked here yet