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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Recipes / Stock, Broth & Soups / Stock & Broth Recipes / How to Use Bonito Flakes to Make Broth

How to Use Bonito Flakes to Make Broth

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

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Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • What is Bonito Broth?
  • Health Benefits
  • What are Bonito Flakes?+−
    • Budget Friendly and Space Saving
  • Quick Fish Stock Not a Sub for Bone Broth
  • Hard to Find Fresh Fish? Use Bonito Flakes Instead
  • How to Make Broth from Bonito Flakes
  • Bonito Broth Recipe+−
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions

How to quickly make a quart of bonito broth using traditional Japanese skipjack flakes from the health food store or Asian supermarket as an inexpensive and healthy base for soups and sauces.

packet of bonito flakes for making broth

Bonito flakes are a delicious and extremely fast way to whip up a pot of economical fish stock.

It is wonderful to sip alone or as a base for soup as used traditionally in Japanese cuisine. Here’s what ancient South American proverbs have to say on the matter:

“Fish stock will cure anything”

“Good broth will resurrect the dead”  

I personally feel that fish stock is a must cooking skill to teach children before they leave home. It is easy to make, and absolutely the fastest of all traditional broth recipes.

I recently taught my teenage son how to make fish stock with fish heads and bonito flakes.  

He couldn’t believe how easy it was. Show them once and they will never forget!  It’s that easy.

What is Bonito Broth?

Bonito broth, also called dashi, is a fish stock traditional to Japan.

It is traditionally mixed with fermented miso paste to make soup.

This miso brand is unpasteurized and of excellent quality.

The broth is either sipped alone or mixed with meat, noodles, seaweed, or small cubes of tofu.

When I stayed in a Japanese monastery in Kyoto right after college, I noticed that the monks enjoyed a nourishing cup of fish stock served at breakfast with cold poached eggs, fish and vegetables.

Health Benefits

The Japanese have historically valued bonito broth as a remedy for colds and fatigue and to improve blood circulation.

The Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition reported in 2008 a randomized human trial of 27 elderly Japanese subjects who ingested broth made from bonito flakes or water for one month.

At the conclusion of the trial, the people who ingested bonito broth during the study had far improved systolic blood pressure readings than those ingesting plain water.  

In addition, the bonito broth drinking subjects had a much improved emotional state.

What are Bonito Flakes?

Bonito flakes are made from dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna.

Note that skipjack is one of the safest forms of tuna as they are shorter-lived and much smaller than albacore and bluefin.

Traditionally, Japanese women kept blocks of the dried bonito and used a kitchen tool to flake off as much as they needed each day. Nowadays the flakes are sold in bags.

Unfortunately, homemade dashi made from dried kelp and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) is rare today, even in Japan.

Most people use granulated or liquid instant stock, which is typically full of MSG for flavor instead of the natural and delicious flavor from the bonito flakes.

Beware of bonito broth substitutes!

Budget Friendly and Space Saving

Broth made from bonito flakes is especially helpful for a young adult or family on a limited budget with limited space.

Because you can make a pot in just a few minutes, it can be made as needed rather than making huge batches and freezing large quantities like with chicken or beef stock.

It is the most economical stock too:  less than a dollar’s worth of bonito flakes makes a quart of stock in a hurry.

The picture above is of a package of bonito flakes from a local Asian supermarket. They cost less than a dollar each! One packet of bonito flakes will make a quart of bonito broth.

This compares with a pot of chicken stock which takes 24 hours to make with quality pastured chicken that is very expensive and sometimes hard to find.

Quick Fish Stock Not a Sub for Bone Broth

Is bonito broth a substitute for slow cooked chicken or beef stock? No.

The reason is that bonito broth does not contain gelatin like the slow cooked versions made from bones.  

However, bonito broth is incredibly nutritious nonetheless and is a great adjunct to slow cooked bone broths to keep the budget in check and for quick meals in a hurry.

Hard to Find Fresh Fish? Use Bonito Flakes Instead

If you need fish broth asap, don’t have any fish heads on hand or don’t have a place to buy fish heads in your town because you aren’t near the coast, you can make bonito fish broth instead.

Best to keep a number of these handy little packets in your pantry to use in a pinch!

How to Make Broth from Bonito Flakes

The easy recipe below makes one quart of bonito broth. It is a great stand-in for bone broth if the freezer is temporarily empty.

Drink bonito broth by itself, mix with miso or use as a base for seafood gumbo, clam chowder or other similar soups.

Another soup recipe using bonito broth is this fast, healthy ramen soup!

You can find the dried flakes at health food stores, Asian groceries, and online here.

quick stock from bonito flakes in a jar
3.78 from 18 votes
Print

Bonito Broth Recipe

Easy recipe for bonito flakes made into broth (quick fish stock) that is delicious and highly economical as a base for soups and sauces when bone broth is unavailable.

Course Appetizer
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword fast, traditional
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 quart
Calories 17 kcal
Author Sarah Pope

Ingredients

  • 1 quart filtered water
  • 1 packet bonito flakes or 3 grams
  • 2 Tbl organic miso paste optional, preferably unpasteurized

Instructions

  1. Bring filtered water to a boil.

  2. Remove pan from heat and add a half cup of the bonito flakes.

  3. Cover and allow the bonito flakes to sink to the bottom of the pot. This will take a few minutes.

  4. Strain out the bonito flakes and discard or sprinkle them on your dog or cat’s food.

  5. Add miso paste and slowly stir until well blended.

  6. The broth has a smoky, hearty flavor similar to that of beef stock.

Nutrition Facts
Bonito Broth Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 cup)
Calories 17
% Daily Value*
Carbohydrates 3g1%
Protein 1g2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
kettle pouring hot water on bonito flakes in a jar to make quick fish stock
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Category: Fish Recipes, Stock & Broth Recipes
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (43)

  1. Ariane

    Sep 17, 2019 at 6:57 am

    5 stars
    Would this broth be a source of iodine then?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Sep 17, 2019 at 10:16 am

      I haven’t seen the results of any tests that indicate that it would contain any more iodine than average.

  2. robc

    Apr 22, 2019 at 5:07 pm

    5 stars
    That’s funny lol! Just made my day. Can you eat Bonito flakes? IE. Sprinkled on rice.

    Reply
  3. robc

    Apr 22, 2019 at 5:02 pm

    Can you eat the Bonito flakes?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Apr 22, 2019 at 5:24 pm

      Yes you can!

  4. Kirstin rogers

    Sep 9, 2018 at 12:29 am

    These are salted fermented dried and smoked flakes. If expired – was packaging intact? Did any moisturure get in? If not use and dont pitch… most dates are best by dates not no good after dates. We throw too much perfectly good food away.

    Reply
  5. Mary C

    Feb 18, 2018 at 10:32 am

    I have a bag of flakes my son bought and I need to use them. The expiration date was last month. Do you think they’re still ok? The bag is large—3.52 Oz. Should I double the recipe here to use them all? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Feb 18, 2018 at 7:29 pm

      It’s up to you. If you do decide to use them, the quicker the better for sure!

  6. Margery

    Jun 28, 2017 at 6:30 pm

    5 stars
    Good information. Lucky me I discovered your website by chance.
    I have saved it for later!

    Reply
    • Al Smith

      Sep 3, 2023 at 10:16 am

      5 stars
      Hi Ms. Pope, I am looking for a way to supplement the quantity of shells required to make superior lobster bisque. What are your thoughts on using your bonito broth as part of the foundation of lobster bisque? Thank you.

  7. JoAnn

    Sep 1, 2016 at 2:09 pm

    Instructions say 1/2 cup of bonito flakes to one quart of water. Is that correct? Or is it half a bag or one packet of flakes to one quart of water? Picture says a quart of stock for less than a dollar… I am confused…

    Reply
  8. Yusra

    Aug 12, 2016 at 5:46 pm

    Thanks for the recipe. And by the way, you were holding the package upside-down. If you know how to read Japanese, it is very obvious.

    Reply
  9. Kathy

    May 31, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    Are you supposed to add gelatin?

    Reply
  10. Sun-Hee

    Nov 23, 2015 at 4:28 am

    I’d been taught to make fish stock with dried anchovies, kelp and sometimes dried shrimps (Korean). The Japanese bonito is also very delicious and has a different taste. It’s great for most recipes and a must-do to get authentic flavour when cooking Japanese soups.

    …also the package in the picture is upside-down.

    Reply
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3.78 from 18 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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