Unlike Western broths, which often require long simmering with many ingredients and can have a very strong flavor, traditional Japanese dashi (especially those made with kombu and katsuobushi) is usually prepared with fewer, carefully selected ingredients and in much less time. While Western broths may rely on animal fats for flavor, dashi primarily enhances flavor through umami, without relying heavily on fats.
The main role of dashi is to subtly enhance and harmonize the natural flavors of other ingredients in a dish.
Saba-bushi is made from mackerel, usually spotted mackerel (Goma-saba) or blue mackerel (Masaba). Like katsuobushi, it is a block of dried fish used to make dashi.
Manufacturing process is similar to that of katsuobushi, which involves simmering, deboning, and smoke-drying.
Saba-bushi dashi is known for its rich, deep, and savory flavor, often more robust and with a more pronounced fish aroma than katsuobushi dashi.
It has a pronounced richness and body, and its main contributor to umami is also inosinic acid. It can sometimes have a slight acidity.
Making dashi from dried mackerel saba-bushi atsukezuri for dashi
Add 20 g of kombu and 25 g of Saba-bushi atsukezuri to one liter of room temperature water. Leave to rest overnight. The next day, heat slowly until boiling, then remove the kombu. Return to the heat until boiling, then turn off the heat and leave to rest for up to half an hour before straining. Your dashi is ready to use.
How to use dried mackerel flakes saba-bushi atsukezuri for dashi?
Saba-bushi dashi is ideal for soba and udon noodle soups, rich, dark sauces such as tsuyu that accompany soba noodles, and nimono stews (particularly suitable for dishes with strong-flavored vegetables or when a more assertive dashi is desired).
Saba-bushi can also be mixed with other dried fish to create a complex dashi broth for ramen.
May contain traces of shellfish
