Katsuobushi

Katsuobushi is Japanese dried, fermented & shaved bonito fillets. It is the one of the two main ingredients of dashi stock. Dashi is the back bone of Japanese stocks & sauces. The bonito, in conjunction with the konbu (dried kelp) give the smoky, fishy & umami flavor to the stock.   

Dashi is then the base for dressings like ponzu, which had citrus added.  Powdered dashi can be bought for a quick & easy stock but it is full of msg.  It really is quite easy to make Dashi and it will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 1 lt water
• 1 pc konbu, 10 cm approx., wiped with damp cloth
• 15g bonito shavings
• 30 ml light soy
• 20 ml mirin

Method

Bring water and dashi kombu slowly up to the boil, just before boiling remove kombu. As it boils add the bonito, simmer for 30 seconds then turn off and let sit for 5 minutes.

Strain through sieve. Add the soy and mirin and let cool. You now have seasoned dashi which you can use to make miso soup or any number of things.