Bonito and skipjack

Browse All Bonito and skipjack Recipes

About Bonito and Skipjack
The skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. It is otherwise known as the arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna, or victor fish. It is a streamlined, fast-swimming pelagic fish, common in tropical waters throughout the world, where it inhabits surface waters in large shoals, feeding on fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods and mollusks. It is an important prey species for large pelagic fishes and sharks. Like other tunas, the skipjack tuna has a fusiform body shape. It has two dorsal fins: the first with spines, the second without. The caudal peduncle has three sets of keels, a large one on the base of the peduncle inserted between two smaller pairs. The mouth extends to the center of the eye. The swim bladder is absent. Skipjack have a special system for partially regulating their body temperature, known as counter current exchange. This allows them to conserve body temperature, making them partially "warm blooded." The body color above is dark blue or purple, while the belly and lower sides are silvery and have four to six dark but broken lines running the length of the body. These stripes along the belly distinguish this tuna from other scrombrids living in the same waters.

Bonito is a type of tuna, which is a member of the mackerel family, and one of the most important fish in Japanese cuisine. Rarely eaten fresh, the dark, oily meat is dried into very hard cubes, which must be ground or shaved with a special tool before use. Bonito shavings form the base for many Japanese sauces and stocks (such as dashi, made with bonito and seaweed).

Bonito flakes
It can be bought in flakes, also known as katsuobushi, which have a strong, salty flavor and a tan color. The flakes are frequently sprinkled over boiled or steamed vegetables and into soups. It is an English word for the Japanese Katsuo.