Katsuobushi

Dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna KatsuobushiKatsuobushi shavings from a package Cookbook: Katsuobushi Media: Katsuobushi Steam animates katsuobushi A bag of katsuobushi flakes Katsuobushi (Japanese: 鰹節) is simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis, sometimes referred to as bonito). It is also known as bonito flakes or broadly as okaka (おかか). Shaved katsuobushi and dried kelp—kombu—are the main ingredients of dashi, a broth that forms the basis of many soups (such as miso) and sauces (such as soba no tsukejiru) in Japanese cuisine. Katsuobushi's distinct umami taste comes from its high inosinic acid content. Traditionally made katsuobushi, known as karebushi, is deliberately fermented with Aspergillus glaucus fungus in order to reduce moisture. Katsuobushi has also been shown to impart kokumi (a term translated as "heartiness"). Traditional production process Katsuobushi is in wood-like blocks. The fish is beheaded, gutted, and filleted, with the fatty belly, which does not lend well to being preserved, trimmed off. The fillets are then arranged in a basket and simmered just below boiling for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on