← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 15 g bonito flakes (fresh, or squeezed-out flakes left from making dashi)
• 15 g leftover kombu from making dashi, finely chopped (optional)
• ½ tsp Toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Mirin
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 3 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp Aonori (green seaweed flakes)
• ½ sheet Nori
• ½ tsp Salt

Method

1. If you are using leftover bonito flakes from dashi, squeeze them dry and chop finely.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the bonito and kombu and stir for 3–5 min until dry and crisp.
3. Add the soy sauce, mirin and sugar and keep stirring for 2–3 min until the mixture is dry and crumbly again.
4. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the sesame seeds, aonori and salt. Crumble in the nori.
5. Spread on a plate to cool completely, then store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Tips

• Sprinkle it on rice, onigiri, popcorn, eggs or buttered noodles.
• Add a little dried shiso, wasabi powder or chilli flakes to make your own blends.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Chopstick Chronicles Japanese Cooking 101