Dining with the Chef

Authentic Japanese Cooking: Deep-fried Bonito

Our theme for this episode is deep frying. Chef Saito will be frying fresh bonito with bonito flakes, for a dish known as tomo-age. This delicious dish uses plenty of bonito flakes, which are a key ingredient in the dashi stock that is so central to Japanese cuisine. The texture of the finished dish is crucial for tomo-age, so we'll be frying it for just long enough to cook the bonito until it's rare inside, leaving the bonito flakes outside nice and crispy. For a garnish, we'll be deep-frying shishito peppers uncoated, to bring out their brilliant green color.