What Is Bonito? (Bonito Flakes)

Katsuobushi is smoked and fermented skipjack tuna cut very thinly. It is served as a garnish for popular Japanese dishes such as Takoyaki or Kelp to make the dashi. However, there’s much to learn about bonito flake and how they’re prepared and the various flavour profiles of each kind of katsuobushi.

What is the reason we create bonito and bonito flakes?

Bonito and bonito flakes not only used to preserve food and preservation, but they also give us stronger and more pronounced umami tastes. Katsuobushi was developed from other types of bonito that were dried in the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan. Smoked and boiled fish is called arabushi. A hundred years later they began making use of molds as an extra method of fermentation to improve and intensify the taste. It’s commonly used in Japanese food as an essential ingredient in recipes as well as a garnish.

Are bonito flakes real fish?

Bonito flakes are made of real skipjack tuna which has been preserved and processed. When you use bonito flakes as garnish, you might observe that the bonito flake “dance” or “move,” however, it’s because of thin and light shavings that react to warmth of the hot food.

How is bonito or katsuobushi created?

Katsuobushi is prepared by boiling, dry-smoking and then applying an effective mold called Aspergillus glaucus on skipjack tuna. The bacterial mold aids in the process of fermentation and improves the taste. When the process is finished the bonito will look like the shape of a wooden block since all moisture will have been removed.

There are several types of katsuobushi. They will depend on the time it takes to have finished the fermentation and drying process. Some varieties can take just several weeks, whereas premium grades can last for many years. These are the four main types:

• Arabushi: The skipjack tuna can be cooked and then dried with smoke but is not fermented. It has a distinctive smokey flavor, and is generally more affordable because it’s faster to make.
• Karebushi: The skipjack tuna goes through the three-step process of preservation twice. The process involves smoking-drying, boiling, and then fermenting with the mold that is placed on the top. This is why karebushi has a more intense umami flavor than arabushi as a result of the process of fermentation.
• Honkarebushi Apart from the process of bonito twice in karebushi, honkarebushi also completes its preservation procedure at minimum three times (and in some instances some cases, more than that). This creates a rich and complex flavor of fish. Honkarebushi is one of the most expensive types of Katsuobushi.
• Hanakatsuo: Thinly shred arabushi, which looks like wood shavings that are used to top. Because it’s not gone through the process of fermentation and is a little softer, it has a mild and delicate taste of.

How do bonito flakes work?

There are numerous ways to make use of bonito flakes for adding an extra taste on dishes for example, Takoyaki (Japanese Octopus balls) as well as somen noodles, yakisoba, agedashi tofu, Onigiri (Japanese rice ball) homemade dashi, miso soup or seaweed.

Does bonito taste fishy?

Bonito flakes are indeed bonito-like. They possess a stronger aroma and flavor due to preservation enhances the umami taste profile. The bonito flavor profile is spicy and salty. It is also fleshy.

Are bonito flakes healthy?

There could be beneficial effects of eating bonito flake soups for seniors, including decreasing blood pressure. Bonito flakes also are high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals including Vitamin D along with potassium. Further research suggests that the bonito flakes have an anti-inflammatory effect on your body.

Where can I purchase bonito flake?

I purchase bonito flakes at my local Japanese supermarket, Mitsuwa Marketplace or at other Asian supermarkets like H-Mart, 99 Ranch and Seafood City. You can also buy bonito flakes online from stores, such as MTK Kitchen..

Commercially, you’ll get bonito that has been shaved prior to purchase, which is why you shouldn’t open the bags until you’re ready to serve them. The bonito flakes can be found with separate containers, which means you don’t have to open the entire container which I prefer since the bags that aren’t opened will remain fresh. After opening, you should make use of the bonito flakes as quickly as you can, since the flakes will begin to wilt rapidly.

For higher-end grades, such as honkarebushi, there are them in whole blocks which will require an bonito shaver box in order to cut them at home.

What can you alternative to bonito flake?

If you aren’t able to get the bonito powder available in your region You have other options that you can use for your recipes. But, be aware that the process of fermentation for bonito results in a deep and intense flavor that it is difficult to duplicate using the most common ingredients.

For instance, if you’re making broth, you could use dried baby anchovies instead of bonito flake. If you are vegetarian, you can make use of mushroom powder, dried mushrooms as well as dried kelp (kombu) to substitute in place of bonito chips.