[Katsuobushi, Okara (Japan); Gasseuobushi (Korea)]
One of the basic ingredients for Japanese cuisine, this flake is used to make soup stock (Dashi) and as a garnish, toping, or seasoning for many recipes.
Katsuobushi is made from Skipjack Tuna. It is an expensive product due to the many stages of it's manufacture, including trimming, boiling, boning. long smoking, fermenting, etc. with considerable hand labor required. It is sold as a solid piece with the hardness of a board, or shaved thin. The solid piece requires a special shaving box to make it useful. Similar flakes (sababushi) are made from mackerel.
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