Smoked bonito (katsuobushi)

Smoked bonito flakes, known as ‘katsuobushi’, are a key ingredient in traditional Japanese cuisine. Soaked and then heated in a kombu infusion, these pinkish flakes produce the quintessential stock of Japanese culinary tradition: dashi. This richly umami-flavoured stock forms the basis of miso soup, ramen and numerous sauces, notably ponzu and tsuyu. It’s impossible to cook truly Japanese food without them!

The process of making katsuobushi is long and delicate. Fillets of striped bonito (and only this species) are boiled in water and then smoked for days (sometimes up to two weeks). Once dried, they are coated with spores of noble moulds from the Aspergillus family – which also includes the famous koji – and then left to dry in the sun for two weeks. At the end of the process, the fillets are as hard as wood, red and translucent like a ruby… and they give off a delicious aroma.

Katsuobushi is a natural flavor enhancer – a highly sought-after property in Japan. It is sometimes used as a seasoning, particularly on octopus balls "takoyaki" and "okonomiyaki" omelets. The heat waves then make the bonito flakes "dance" on the dish... A hypnotic movement that is hard to forget.