Ever wonder what to do with bonito flakes that have been used to make dashi? Feels like a waste to throw them away, doesn’t it? The good news is you can reuse them to make a delicious topping for rice or a stuffing for onigiri with this super easy recipe!
I have a confession to make – I used to throw away bonito flakes after using them to make dashi.
It felt like a huge waste and I felt guilty for doing it, but I honestly didn’t know what else to do with them. I thought that because I couldn’t reuse them to make more dashi, they didn’t serve much of a purpose anymore.
That is, until a couple of years ago when my mother scolded me for throwing them out and showed me a neat little trick to save those lovely fish flakes.
It turns out that pan frying wet bonito flakes removes the moisture and returns them to their original light and flaky texture! Add a drizzle of soy sauce, a little sugar, and sake, and you have another delicious topping for your rice! You can also make a quick furikake which is also really yummy.
So the next time you find yourself with used bonito flakes and can’t think of a way to recycle them, give this recipe a try – I promise you will love it.
What Are Bonito Flakes?
Bonito flakes, or katsuobushi (鰹節), are made from skipjack tuna or bonito that have been fermented and dried into blocks and then shaved into flakes.
They are a staple ingredient in Japanese cooking and are used to make soup stocks, sauces, salad dressings, rice toppings, and can also be used in salads, or as a garnish for several other Japanese dishes.
The Best Way to Make This Recipe
Make sure that the used bonito flakes have been squeezed thoroughly before you use them. The less water they contain and the more successful this recipe will be. That’s because we are going to dry the fish flakes in a pan so they are not soggy and limp.
When adding the wet flakes the pan, break up the lumps as much as you can. This helps remove the moisture faster and gives the flakes a light, almost crispy texture.
Ingredients for Soy Sesame Bonito Flakes
Scroll all the way down for the full recipe.
- Bonito flakes: You can use used or fresh bonito flakes to make this recipe. If you are using fresh flakes, use only 20 grams instead of 30.
- Soy sauce: Regular or light soy sauce will work to add umami and earthiness to the fish flakes.
- Mirin: A little mirin to balance the saltiness of the soy sauce and give the dish more depth of flavor.
- Sake: A little sake for some sweetness and fruitiness.
- Sugar: I’m only using a teaspoon to infuse the flakes with sweetness, but feel free to add an additional teaspoon if you prefer it sweeter.
- Sesame seeds: Sesame seeds add nuttiness and a delicious crunch to the dish.
How to Make Soy Sesame Bonito Flakes
- Gather all of your kitchen tools and ingredients.
- Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar to a medium size skillet and turn the heat to medium low.
- Stir until the sugar has melted and add the bonito flakes to the pan by separating them as much as possible.
- Stir and toss constantly for 10 minutes to coat the flakes with the sauce, evenly.
- Add the sesame seeds, stir, and toss constantly for an additional 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and transfer the bonito flakes to a bowl. Serve on top of rice.
Variations
- Add chopped scallions just before serving to add some crunch and a refreshing taste.
- Toss in a little ichimi before serving to add some heat.
- Add chopped dried sardines for a mineral and slightly fishy taste.
- If you are using it for onigiri filling, add a drop of toasted sesame oil for extra nuttiness.
How to Serve Soy Sesame Bonito Flakes (Katsuobushi)
As previously mentioned, this recipe is delicious over a simple bowl of Japanese rice and makes a great filling for onigiri (Japanese rice balls). It’s also good as a topping for tofu, chicken, or beef, or mixed with wafu (Japanese style) pasta.
If you enjoyed this recipe, here are other quick and easy Japanese dishes you might like:
- Curry udon
- Japanese egg drop soup (kakitamajiru)
- Yaki onigiri (grilled Japanese rice balls)
- Ochazuke
- Miso soup
Did you like this Soy Sesame Crispy Bonito Flakes Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
Print
Soy Sesame Bonito Flakes
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
- Category: Seasoning
- Method: Pan frying
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
An easy and delicious rice topping or onigiri filling made with used bonito flakes.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake or cooking sake
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 30–35g used bonito flakes with excess water squeezed thoroughly, or 20g fresh bonito flakes
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar to a medium size skillet and turn the heat to medium low.
- When the sugar has melted, add the bonito flakes by breaking up the lump of wet fish flakes as much as you can and tossing them with chopsticks.
- Keep tossing the bonito flakes for 10 minutes until they separate and dry out.
- Add the sesame seeds and cook for an additional 2 minutes, tossing constantly. Turn the heat off and serve over rice.
Notes
To store, transfer the bonito flakes to an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 39
- Sugar: 3.1g
- Sodium: 362.5mg
- Fat: 0.4g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 4.4g
- Fiber: 0.1g
- Protein: 1.9g
- Cholesterol: 2.6mg
Felt like throwing out the bonito flakes after making dashi was a waste, now I finally have a tasty use for them!
Tried this recipe and now I have a homemade (healthy) add – on to my rice and topping for baked salmon! Will try making your furikake NEXT, just came in my inbox the other day.
Will be making YOUR miso SOUP with the dashi.
Will be making YOUR dashimaki tamago tomorrow for breakfast!
Thank you so much Ken :)!!
I would really like to try this but I’m allergic to alcohol, they give me hives. Is there an alternative way to reuse bonito flakes without the mirin and sake?
Hi Marini! Most mirin sold outside of Japan is alcohol-free, so you should be fine with it. Here are 2 popular mirins that don’t contain any alcohol – Honteri: https://amzn.to/3vj71Vq and Eden: https://amzn.to/4agVIfP
As for the sake, you can skip it and add an additional tablespoon of mirin instead. I hope this helps! 🙂
I learned to cook Japanese food in college working at Akasaka Restaurant in San Francisco, CA. I’m kind of shocked that I am only learning about using used Kasuobushi to make Furikake 30 years later. I hate wasting things, and found myself only using instant dashi for home cooking. So looking forward to making my next bowl of miso using real Dashi. Even more excited to make some homemade Furikake!
I hear you Elrik! I used to throw away used bonito flakes as well and always felt so bad. I hope you enjoy reusing them for furikake!
I make tuna Pattie’s regularly , to add more flavour to them , is it possible to add Bonito flakes to my recipe ! Unsure ?? Please advise , as I’m new to Japanese cooking ! I also adore seaweed salad and this is where my passion / taste for Japanese food started !!
Hi Nada! I would not recommend adding bonito flakes to the patties since they absorb a lot of liquid and clump. They are best used as a topping so I would suggest adding some flakes on top of your patties and drizzling a little soy sauce on top 🙂
After making both ichiban dashi AND niban dashi I used your recipe and it was great! I was worried the flakes were too spent after 2 uses for this recipe but it worked perfectly to crisp them back up. Lovely as an onigiri filling. Bonito flakes are very expensive here and I appreciate the recipe to use them to their full potential
Wonderful Pamela! I’m so happy you were able to recycle the flakes 🙂