Bonito

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Also known as skipjack tuna, bonito is a medium-sized fish related to tuna and belongs to the wider mackerel family. It is one of the fastest swimmers in the sea and is traditionally fished with a single rod rather than a large trawling net, which might damage its flesh. Bonito features in nearly every aspect of Japanese cuisine. It is eaten in sushi and marinated or lightly grilled as sashimi. Dried and shaved, it is used to make dashi, the basic Japanese stock. Bonito is often served with grated ginger, which complements its distinctive full, rich flavor.

Bonito fillets

For sushi and sashimi, the skin is usually left on. The most popular method of serving it is tataki—lightly grilled, then plunged into iced water to halt cooking and firm up the flesh.

AVAILABILITY

There are other fish called “bonito,” but the one known as skipjack tuna is used in Japanese cuisine. Bonito begins its migration northward along Japan’s Pacific coast in spring, heralding summer when it appears on Tokyo sushi bar menus in early May. In fall, it returns southward; some sushi connoisseurs prefer the flavor of “returning bonito.” In the Americas, bonito is in season between May and October. In Australia, it is available year-round, but is best between March and June.

SUSTAINABILITY

Bonito is less vulnerable to overfishing than other types of tuna. Those caught using troll or pole are the most sustainable. However, avoid purse seine fisheries using fishing aggregation devices (FADs), which attract a lot of vulnerable bycatch.