Language ▼Katsuobushi and similar products
History and Culture
Bushi (dried fish fillets) refers to the fermented food for which red-fleshed fish such as bonito with head and internal organs removed is roasted, fully dried and covered with mold. Dried bonito (katsuobushi) is the most popular among them. Dried bonito contains a lot of inosinic acid and glutamic acid, the umami component, and is essential to Japanese traditional cuisine.
The origin of dried bonito dates back to "katauo (hard fish)" in the era of the Yamato dynasty in the 4th to 5th century. It was an offering to the god called "omike." According to the Yoro Ritsuryo code established in 718 in the Nara era, "katauo," "katsuo irori (*seasoning made by boiling bonito split from its head)" and "nigatsuo (fish boiled and dried hard)" were offered to the court. "Katsuo irori" is considered to have been used as a seasoning together with salt when there were no other seasonings such as miso or soy sauce at that time.
The name of "katsuofushi" was first mentioned in the book "Tanegashima Kafu" (1513). In the mid-1600s, the method to spray mold after smoking and drying was invented in Tosa (Kochi Prefecture). Later, by increasing the number of mold sprays, harder "honkarebushi" with more umami concentrated was born.
The method of smoking and drying fish has been long practiced in Maldives, India and other western Pacific countries as a wisdom to prevent fish from rotting. This technique is considered to have been brought to Japan via sea.
Characteristics and Types
Soup stock extracted from kombu seaweed is a great umami component together with dried bonito. The source of umami of dried bonito is 5'-inosinic acid and kombu seaweed glutamic acid. Umami of kombu seaweed is substitutable with monosodium glutamate (MFG). But the taste and flavor unique to dried bonito cannot be reproduced by other components, and can be created only from dried bonito even today.
Dried bonito is said to be the hardest food in the world. The water content is reduced by repeatedly roast-drying and spraying it with mold. Drying to the utmost limit creates an environment where microorganisms cannot grow, which increases its shelf life. Heating the fish in a fresh state for a long time in the initial process removes protein and fat to some extent, and the sprayed mold decomposes fat, which makes soup stock extracted from dried bonito less cloudy. In addition to dried bonito, there are sodabushi (dried bullet tuna, frigate tuna and sumasoda), magurobushi (dried yellowtail tuna), sababushi (dried blue mackerel and chub mackerel), murobushi (dried amberstrip scad and Japanese horse mackerel), urumebushi (dried round herring) and iwashibushi (dried Japanese anchovy). The characteristics of each are as follows.
[Sodabushi]
Mainly produced in Tosashimizu City in Kochi Prefecture. The other production areas include Kumamoto Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture and the Kansai region. Its soup stock is thick and not suitable for delicate taste of some Japanese cuisine, but mainly used for soba soup.
[Magurobushi]
Its characteristic is whitish red color compared with dried bonito. The color and taste of its soup stock is light, so it is used for clear soup with delicate taste.
[Sababishi]
While the aroma is not strong, the soup stock extracted from sababushi has strong umami and is used for soba soup, udon soup or miso soup.
[Murobushi]
Mainly produced in Kumamoto and Kagoshima Prefectures. The soup stock extracted from murobushi is light yellow and tastes smooth. It is mainly used as a soup stock for udon in the Chubu region.
[Urumebushi and iwashibushi]
Urumebushi is mainly produced in Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Kumamoto Prefectures. The characteristic is thick taste. The soup stock is used for udon soup in the Kansai region.
Iwashibushi is mainly produced in Kyushu region, Ehime Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. It has no fishy smell but umami, and is used for ramen soup.
Production Method
The head and internal organs of a bonito, the material, are removed. The bonito is then cut into three parts. The bonito fillets are placed side by side in a basket, which are then put in a cooking pot and stewed at around 80°C for 60 to 90 minutes.
They are left in a well-ventilated place to allow them to cool before the bones are manually removed. These fillets are then placed in a steaming basket and roast-dried with smoking wood. The fillets roast-dried once are called "namaribushi." Roast-drying is repeated about ten to twenty times.
After completing the roast-drying process, the fillets become black masses covered with a tarry substance. The tarry substance on the surface is shaved off. This state is called "hadakabushi." Then, mold is sprayed. The surface will be covered with mold in one to two weeks. The fillets, covered with mold, are dried in the sun. After that, mold on the surface is brushed off and mold is then sprayed again. The fillets sprayed with mold twice or more are called "honkarebushi." It takes 60 to 80 days to reach this state.
Relationship with Regions
Dried bonito is called differently depending on each production area, such as yaizubushi, satsumabushi, tosabushi and izubushi, with different shapes and flavors unique to each area. Today Kagoshima and Shizuoka Prefectures are the two major production areas of dried bonito. In Kochi Prefecture, where dried bonito was born, the production of sodabushi exceeds that of dried bonito.
Contribution to Sustainability and SDGs
Dried bonito producers and production areas are actively engaged in sustainable efforts to effectively use the parts other than those used for making dried bonito. Makurazaki Marine Products Processing Industries Cooperative in Makurazaki City, Kagoshima Prefecture, is making efforts to use every part of bonito and effectively use valuable resources. Their activity outcomes include production of functional food (supplements) from the head (orbital fat) of the fish, which is not used for dried bonito, purification of natural calcium, and production of beauty drinks from the heart. (12. Responsible Consumption and Production)
Reference
Shinya Fuke, Tsuyoshi Takagi, Akira Nomura, Yoshiaki Morishima, and Hiroshi Okada, edited by the Japanese Society of Traditional Food, "Nihon no Dento Shokuhin Jiten" [Encyclopedia of Traditional Japanese Food], Asakura Publishing Co., Ltd., p.535-556
The Asahi Shimbun Company, NHK, NHK Promotions Inc., "Official Guidebook: Special exhibition Washoku: Nature and culture in Japanese cuisine: more delicious with more knowledge" p.80-81
