I Made my Own Homemade Katsuobushi (Shaved Bonito Flakes)

My dad and I spent a week making our own katsuobushi from scratch. The fish used to make katsuobushi (skipjack tuna) is very common here in Hawaii so it's been something I've been meaning to try. Turns out its not super complicated but it takes a long time. The style of katsuobushi we made is called 'arabushi' its fish that is smoked and dried for a long period of time. This style of katsuobushi is often shaved and sold in bags. There is another style of katsuobushi called karebushi which is arabushi inoculated with mold and dessicated for months. This created a drier more concentrated umami flavor but has less intense fishy flavor. The mold used to make this can be dangerous (can cause pneumonia if you are immunocompromised) so I would not recommend making that at home.

Tools we used:

If you don't feel like making your own katsuobushi:

[ainzsama]

Great video once again. Though I am 95% I will never make my own Katsuobushi.

But hey, I used to say the same thing about making ramen, and here I am making a ramen broth every week.
Thank you so much for teaching me.

[josho]

It was all going well until he said I need a smoker. It's alright though I just went and bought a vape and blew on it for a couple hours. Adapt, improvise, overcome.

[arinaira]

Great video!! I live in Indonesia and we have similar dish too but we dkn't shave it. Usually the sailor smoke the fist until it gets hard so it can stay longer. They keep it as a food supply when they go sailing. We call it "ikan kayu" which means wooden fish. Because it's hard like a wood.

[thizz]

Super dope vid! I’ve always wondered how bonito flakes are made.

[HootOwl]

I was curious about Bonito Flakes. In the film, "Chushingura" the hero, young Lord Asano makes a gift of Dried Bonito to Kira Sama, a corrupt court official, who is supposed to tutor him in the necessary protocol persuant to the Shogun's inspection. Kira rejects the Bonito, and slyly hints he should have received a much grander bribe. Asano believes in the pure way of the Samurai, and that it is unjust to have to bribe any officials. Kira provokes Asano, who draws his sword inside the palace. For this offence, Asano must commit suppuku. The rest of the film is about his 47 followers who must endure hardships to avenge their fallen Lord.
Mahalo. I see Kira was a greedy fool not to appreciate the value of country-smoked Bonito.

[jif.]

First Niboshi, now katsuobushi. Your dedication to Ramen knows no bounds. Mahalo nui for sharing that. First time I saw a block of the dried katsuo I thought it was kiawe wood. Mom would have killed me if I mistakenly threw it into the hibachi.

[bismarrezaaraisyi]

Man, you're the only youtuber who make katsuobushi from scratch, that's dedication! Love it.

[Jyzmo]

It's always satisfying to make your own components for a finished product, it makes it that much more your own!!

[gomezjason]

The smell of Dashi stock, is something I could never get tired of. 🤤🤤

[alexill]

Your dedication to ramen is next level. Very impressed with this video!!

[thricexalliance]

Was so fun hearing/watching you do this fun project. Great job, Dad!

[김승훈-cp]

This is another level to try the hardest work at home cooking ...
And for making japanese proper stock, kombu is a kick with katsuo to make it rich flavor

[RayMak]

Love this so much. I didn't know these can be homemade

[lilacscentedfushias]

Thanks, that was very interesting, absolutely no chance of me making it for a variety of reasons, 1 is I don’t have enough motivation for such a long project & I’m allergic to things that swim.
But I’ve often seen it on Japanese food videos. I love to see how it appears to jump & curl when it’s put on something hot. About ten minutes ago I had a burning desire to know how it was made. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌸

[Britzzio]

With the amount of times you said "I can't find the thick cut stuff where I live" we should have expected this at some point! Great stuff!

[Lyndonology]

Random thought, after the fish, is smoked. Would putting it in a dehydrator; further dry and make the flavour more intense?

[etherdog]

A cold smoke for 24-36 hours would probably get you to the water loss level and dryness you are looking for, but still, this dive is a great introduction. Well played, Ryan!

[SGen]

Glad to have you back! The Katsoubushi looks great. Keep the videos coming!

[grapsietv]

I miss Hawaii so much.. 😪 10 years will never be enough, but defo coming back. 🌺🥰

[VincentImmortal]

Amazing, Ryan! Saw these on your IG stories and was excited for the video. Congrats!! Excited for your Hawaiian ramen honestly