Katsuobushi

Although kelp and water alone produce a delicious vegetarian stock (shojin dashi), adding one more ingredient, dried bonito fish (katsuobushi), which is also rich in minerals, vitamins, and protein, creates an even more flavorful and nutritious stock. Katsuobushi has been used as a stock base in Japan since at least the early eighth century. Bonito fish (kat-suo) is filleted, boned, boiled, smoked, and dried in the sun to make a hard, woodlike block with a concentrated, rich, and smoky flavor.

In the past, dried bonito fish was sold only in this hard block form. To make dashi, people shaved flakes from the block with a special tool, katsuobushi kezuri, that resembles a carpenter’s plane. When I was a child, my mother shaved katsuobushi before each meal. I still can hear the vigorous sound of shaving and smell the fragrant aroma of freshly shaved dried bonito. Today shaved katsuobushi, packed in an airtight plastic bag, has become a mainstream product, and the tradition of shaving dried fish has unfortunately disappeared from nearly all home kitchens.