katsuo-bushi

[torakris]

There are lots of things to do with katsuo-bushi, what are some of your favorites?

[smallworld]

Okaka! Nothing could be simpler (or cheaper): mix one small pack of furikake with a few drops of soy sauce and a dash of shichimi. Yum!

[Hiroyuki]

Okaka! Nothing could be simpler (or cheaper): mix one small pack of furikake with a few drops of soy sauce and a dash of shichimi. Yum!

A great reply. Okaka. Let's see...

There is a local dish called "Ki-ri-za-i" here in this Uonuma district.

The ingrediants are:

Natto

Katsuo bushi

Nozawana (野沢菜), finely chopped

Sesame seeds

and whatever you like, chirimenjako, shirasu, etc., etc.

I like it. It's sometimes served at school lunch here in Shiozawa.

One of my latest discoveries is that nozawana, when finely chopped, tastes just like the "daikon no nukazuke" that my mother used to make when I was a child. I'm very happy about this.

***

Correction: Not "daikon no nukazuke" but "daikon leaves no nukazuke"

Edited April 13, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[torakris]

let's see what do I use katsuo bushi for.....

it is a must in natto (along with soy sauce, scallions, karashi and an egg yolk)

a great topping for

okonomiyaki

yaki-udon

hiya yakko

ohitashi

like smallworld said mixit with some soy to make okaka and you have a great onigiri filling or furikake for rice

[jrufusj]

Two more things for which katsuo bushi is a great topping:

Essential on takoyaki

and

Delicious on age dashi tofu

Jim

[torakris]

just a quick note,

If you ever run across a dish that has the word Tosa in the title there is a very good chance that it is flavored with katsuo-bushi.

Tosa is the former name of a province in Shikoku that is today known as Kochi-Ken, this area is famous for their bonito catch and thus the heavy use of katsuo in their food.

So things like Tosa soy sauce, Tosa-ni (ni means simmered), etc all are flavore with bonito flakes.

[torakris]

I made a lovely salad last night of mizuna and tofu with a very gingery dressing and I tossed a handful of hana-katsuo onto the top, it added a wonderful flavor...

[melonpan]

i saw a lady asking about how long katsuo could keep once the package was opened (this was one of those large bags, not the smaller one-two serving ones). the cashier said that he didnt know, but probably for a while, because the flakes were dried. another elderly lady shopping in another lane said that when it goes on sale she buys a whole lot and her secret was that she kept the bags in the freezer.

when the elderly lady left, the other lady said "huh. i would _never_ serve my cats frozen and then thawed bonito flakes." she ended up buying a couple smaller bags.

[torakris]

i saw a lady asking about how long katsuo could keep once the package was opened (this was one of those large bags, not the smaller one-two serving ones).  the cashier said that he didnt know, but probably for a while, because the flakes were dried.  another elderly lady shopping in another lane said that when it goes on sale she buys a whole lot and her secret was that she kept the bags in the freezer.

when the elderly lady left, the other lady said "huh.  i would _never_ serve my cats frozen and then thawed bonito flakes."  she ended up buying a couple smaller bags.

←

[dougery]

I like to mix it with most any kind of oshinko and shoyu then eat it with hot rice!

[helenjp]

My parents used to ask me to send them katsuo-bushi flakes. It was a while before I discovered that my Dad liked it on his sandwiches!!

[cherrypi]

Does anyone make katsuo-bushi with a clump of bonito and a shaver (katsuo-bushi kezuri?) these days, or is that way too old-school? Maybe some Japanese chefs still do it?

When I was very young, my mom used to make bonito flakes using her wooden box (kind of looked like a mandoline with a box underneath). She stopped doing that a long time ago, though - said it was too bothersome, although the resulting katsuo-bushi was much fresher-tasting.

I'm thinking of trying to get my hands on this contraption and a hunk of bonito, as I'm fed up with the bagged stuff, which isn't especially fresh or cheap here in Canada. And I try to buy small bags and keep them refrigerated, but it invariably ends up tasting like wood shavings anyway. I reckon a hunk of bonito would keep better.

[torakris]

I personally don't know anyone who still uses onein their home, but if you mention them to people they all say how much better the flavor is......

I have wanted one for a while but it isn't something that you can pick up at just any store and the blocks of katsuo are much harder to come by...

I too find that the katsuobushi go off by the time I finish a bag because I don't use them fast enough.

I just wonder waht the store life is on a block of katsuo that has been opened...

[Hiroyuki]

In the 1960s, when I was small, we had a shaver at home, but my mother was not a very good shaver. This was not a problem, because she always used niboshi (dried sardines) in miso soup. (Later, she started to use instant dashi powder.)

Shaving is still practiced by fancy Japanese-style restaurants (ryoutei), but I think that there are hardly any Japanese who shave dried bonito at home except for a very few enthusiasts. Most people, including me, are satisfied with the freshness of pre-shaved dried bonito packed with nitrogen. I always buy 3- or 5-g packs, and usually use it up once I open it, so I have no problem with its freshness. (If I can't, I just seal it with a clip and put it in the fridge.)

For those of you who have no idea what we are talking about, here are some links:

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/chokuhan/394218/395007/

http://www.ninben.co.jp/cooking/kezuriki/kezuriki.htm

(Both in Japanese only)

[Culinista]

A shaver is on my shopping list for our upcoming trip to Japan. I remember the lovely smell when my mother shaved bonito just after arriving in the US in the 70s, but the katsuo-bushi kezuri disappeared with the arrival of her 4th kid and instant dashi powder.

Now my husband has gotten curious about freshly shaved katsuo-bushi. I have a feeling my arms are going to look more toned soon.

I like the way the shavings wave around when sprinkled on hot foods, as if they were alive. I remember someone telling me that the way to buy dried bonito for shaving was to bang two pieces together (they look like sticks of wood) and listen for a hollow, dry sound. Is that correct?

[Hiroyuki]

I remember someone telling me that the way to buy dried bonito for shaving was to bang two pieces together (they look like sticks of wood) and listen for a hollow, dry sound. Is that correct?

←

That's true. To be precise, the ones that generate metalic sound (kan kan in Japanese; clank in English?) are the good ones. But, I've never bought katsuo-bushi myself. I think most katsuo-bushi are vacuum-packed, so I wonder if you can use that method...

Edited February 3, 2005 by Hiroyuki (log)

[easternsun]

this thread reminded me of the first time i had okonomiyaki. everyone kept telling me it was a "japanese pancake". when the dish was brought to the table, i remember thinking "WHAT is that stuff on the top that is still ALIVE?"

it was the katsuo-bushi!! it looks like it is floating from the heat of the okonomiyaki!

i like katsuo-bushi on tofu with a little tare...yummy!

[torakris]

just a quick note,

If you ever run across a dish that has the word Tosa in the title there is a very good chance that it is flavored with katsuo-bushi.

Tosa is the former name of a province in Shikoku that is today known as Kochi-Ken, this area is famous for their bonito catch and thus the heavy use of katsuo in their food.

So things like Tosa soy sauce, Tosa-ni (ni means simmered), etc all are flavore with bonito flakes.

←

takenoko no tosa-ni

(simmered bamboo shoots in the Tosa style)

[torakris]

Does anyone make katsuo-bushi with a clump of bonito and a shaver (katsuo-bushi kezuri?) these days, or is that way too old-school?  Maybe some Japanese chefs still do it?

When I was very young, my mom used to make bonito flakes using her wooden box (kind of looked like a mandoline with a box underneath).  She stopped doing that a long time ago, though - said it was too bothersome, although the resulting katsuo-bushi was much fresher-tasting. 

I'm thinking of trying to get my hands on this contraption and a hunk of bonito, as I'm fed up with the bagged stuff, which isn't especially fresh or cheap here in Canada.    And I try to buy small bags and keep them refrigerated, but it invariably ends up tasting like wood shavings anyway.  I reckon a hunk of bonito would keep better.

←

the kezuri-ki and a block of katsuo

the shavings

[_john]

oooo Kristin where did you find it? did you buy it mailorder? I have found a few places that sell kezuri on the web. Is this the type of thing they would have in Kappa-Bashi ?

links:

Deluxe Kezuri - http://www.rakuten.co.jp/satumaya/501168/ (Japanese only)

[torakris]

oooo Kristin where did you find it? did you buy it mailorder? I have found a few places that sell kezuri on the web. Is this the type of thing they would have in Kappa-Bashi ?

←

I just ordered it through my co-op catalogue, I paid 2900 yen for it (about $25). Theya ren't all that easy to come by. Some place in Kappabashi should have them, you might also try looking in cooking utensil sections of department stores or other large ('we sell everything') shops.

[chibirisu]

I just ordered it through my co-op catalogue, I paid 2900 yen for it (about $25). Theya ren't all that easy to come by. Some place in Kappabashi should have them, you might also try looking in cooking utensil sections of department stores or other large ('we sell everything') shops.

←

Cooooool... I didn't know about Kappabashi last time I was in Japan. Must fix that on the next trip! Finding a real block of katsuo and a real shaver is high up there on my fantasy-kitchen wish list.

Because I am SO not going to get a real block of katsuo-bushi and then try my grandpa's wood plane on the thing, however much I might improvise in other areas. (I've discovered that an emptied-out Spanish-Catholic sanctuary candle glass (the tall narrow cylindrical ones I never knew the name for, the ones they leave burning all the time) -- those make great skewer-dipping sauce holders for yakitori etc. You can dunk 'em without getting the ends of the skewers sticky AND without making 3 gallons of yakitori sauce at a time to fill up a pot deep enough to dip 'em vertically under normal circumstances. Those candle-holders hold about 2 cups of yakitori sauce, they're great... But on the other hand there are also some things I don't experiment with, too. I've never gotten mochi-gome to cook correctly in a rice cooker somehow; I always do it with the bamboo steamer method instead, especially when making sekihan for a party, and real katsuo's one of those things that I'd really hate to mess up by improvising too much...)

[Sencha]

oooo Kristin where did you find it? did you buy it mailorder? I have found a few places that sell kezuri on the web. Is this the type of thing they would have in Kappa-Bashi ?

←

I just ordered it through my co-op catalogue, I paid 2900 yen for it (about $25). Theya ren't all that easy to come by. Some place in Kappabashi should have them, you might also try looking in cooking utensil sections of department stores or other large ('we sell everything') shops.

←

That's all you paid for it!? I'm jealous! What about the price of the katsuo?

[torakris]

oooo Kristin where did you find it? did you buy it mailorder? I have found a few places that sell kezuri on the web. Is this the type of thing they would have in Kappa-Bashi ?

←

I just ordered it through my co-op catalogue, I paid 2900 yen for it (about $25). Theya ren't all that easy to come by. Some place in Kappabashi should have them, you might also try looking in cooking utensil sections of department stores or other large ('we sell everything') shops.

←

That's all you paid for it!? I'm jealous! What about the price of the katsuo?

←

I picked up the block in my local supermarket for somewhere between 1000 to 1200 yen ($10 to $12).

[helenjp]

Talking of tosa-ni, something that goes incredibly well with katsuo-bushi is green chile pepper. It's OK with shishitou or green bell pepper too, but the long green mild peppers (ama-naga, bannou and all the varieties with local names, especially common in Kansai) are the best .

You can add them to all kinds of simmered dishes before loading up on the katsuo-bushi, but the simplest way is to fry them quickly in very little oil, till the skins are blistered or charred just here and there, then quickly pour over a dash of soy sauce and ditto of vinegar, serve, top with katsuo and more soy sauce and eat while hot! (It's OK cold with a bento too, but doesn't compare to hot from the pan).