Bonito

Bonito is a name given to various species of medium-sized, predatory fish in the Scombridae family. First, bonito most commonly refers to species in the genus Sarda, including the Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda) and the Pacific bonito (Sarda chiliensis lineolata); second, in Japanese cuisine, bonito refers to the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), which, in Japan, is called by its local name, katsuo; and, third, bonito can generally refer to any of various scombroid fish related to, but smaller than, tuna. Katsuo is used extensively in Japanese cusine. Aside from its prevalance as in raw preparation (e.g. sushi and sashimi), it is also smoked and dried to make katsuobushi, an important ingredient in dashi (a type of common Japanese fish...