katsuobushi; dried bonito flakes
Thinly shaved pieces of dried, fermented skipjack tuna (bonito). A fundamental ingredient in Japanese cuisine, used especially for dashi broth and as a topping.
I make miso soup stock with katsuobushi.
I eat chilled tofu topped with bonito flakes.
鰹節 is the whole dried, hardened bonito block, while 削り節 refers to the thin shavings made from it.
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Standard kanji spelling; the character 鰹 is a kokuji specifically for bonito.
Common mixed kana-kanji spelling, easier to read than the full kanji form.
Search-only katakana-kanji form; not a standard written variant.
Ateji spelling; rarely used, mainly decorative or playful.
Compound of 鰹 (katsuo, 'skipjack tuna') + 節 (fushi, 'dried fish fillet'). The reading かつおぶし is standard; かつぶし is a contraction.