This smaller bag of bonito flakes is ideal for anyone looking to cook just a few Japanese dishes, and who might not eat Japanese food regularly.

Bonito flakes, also called Katsuobushi, are made from dried, fermented and smoked skipjack tuna. They are created over a long process of carefully drying and removing moisture from the fish, and have a salty, slightly fishy flavour. They are often used in Japanese cooking to impart umami into dishes, which is the fifth taste; savoury.

Bonito flakes are used alongside kombu seaweed to make dashi stock, which is the basis to any Japanese dishes that require a stock, but you can also use bonito flakes as a dressing, where they can be sprinkled on top of dishes such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki, with complimentary sauces such as tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayonnaise. You can even use them as a ramen topping, if you like the flavour of fish, they are very versatile.