How Japanese Dried Bonito Is Made
Comments
chanux
spike021
I'm actually very curious about the process.
I'm allergic to fish (can't eat tuna, salmon, etc.) but I can eat food made with pretty much any type of bonito-based dashi I've ever tried.
Especially Japanese food like nabe, nikujaga, Aomori-style thick niboshi soup base ramen.
Never really understood it.
rprwhite
By the sound of it, you have a protein allergy. That is, you are allergic to a specific, or set of specific, proteins. When the proteins are denatured, you seem to not be allergic. This can happen at high temperature, low pH, or sometimes through oxidation. There’s a substantial amount of research on this if you want to look it up. But, for it to be particularly constructive, first you would need to determine to which protein you are allergic
bell-cot
> I'm allergic to fish...
I'd guess that your allergy is to some class of proteins in the fish - and that the production steps for dried bonito (and maybe the time required) denature or destroy those proteins.
avadodin
The Edo period ended in 1868 so that 1888 shop is not making them like in the Edo period any more than a shop that makes them like in the Edo period since 2017.
otherayden
I've never tried dried bonito before but now I'll have to
ggm
In the old Tsukiji market you walked past wooden boxes of the flakes wafting gently in the breeze and saw people milling them with green enamelled powered industrial bench planes, while cooking gas powered market trolleys trundled around, with curious drum like round control panels shifting frozen tuna sides and boxes of abalone. I've never seen those motorised carts anywhere else.
the stuff we buy in packets here in oz must suffer in transit and packaging, they are shattered fragments but they still waft gently in the steam of a bowl of salmon and rice.
The bonito shavings reminded me of the litter around a wood turners lathe. Waste there, but here the point of the exercise.
I think I've had them served as a garnish on Oden. They dance.
halflife
I was at a fish ramen place in Tokyo, they had a bonito block with a hand operated shaver, looked like a giant pencil sharpener.
Next to the ramen they would serve the bonito flakes contained in a small net, And suggest to soak for 10 seconds, but no more than 30 because the flavor would be too intense.
aswegs8
Japan cultivates those oases of mindful living to the point where it feels like art. Beautiful.
meerita
I really love Dried Bonito. It makes tasty everything.
adrianN
This is a very good video on the topic that shows the whole process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzULuj0wU4k (the whole series of videos is good)
akshayrajeshwar
Crazy how fish can look like a gem.
Maldives fish is probably this but without the Japanese perfectionism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives_fish
PS: Still great, BTW