Kezuriki
A katsuobushi kezuriki (鰹節削り器; かつおぶしけずりき) is a traditional Japanese kitchen utensil, similar to a wood plane or mandoline. It is used to shave katsuobushi, dried blocks of skipjack tuna (katsuo).[1]
The technique used to prepare the cooking ingredient is pulling and pushing a block of katsuobushi across the blade in the device in a back-and-forth movement. The resulting shavings are captured in a wooden drawer at the bottom of the instrument and retrieved by opening and emptying the shavings that are roughly sorted into two sizes for different uses.
The shavings are a staple of Japanese cuisine.[2] Larger, thicker shavings, called kezurikatsuo (削り鰹; けずりかつお), are boiled with kombu to make dashi. Smaller, thinner shavings, called hanakatsuo (花鰹; はなかつお), are used as a flavoring and as a topping for many Japanese dishes, such as okonomiyaki.
Today, many Japanese households no longer use the katsuobushi kezuriki, opting instead to buy packages of already-shaved hanakatsuo or kezurikikatsuo at supermarkets.
See also
- Mandoline
- Oroshigane, the category of graters used in Japanese cooking
References
- Albala, Ken (2019-11-01). "A Katsuobushi Story: Preserving Fish and Preserving Tradition". Gastronomica. 19 (4): 42–48. doi:10.1525/gfc.2019.19.4.42. ISSN 1529-3262. S2CID 210462092.
- Hachisu, Nancy Singleton (2012-09-04). Japanese Farm Food. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4494-1829-8.
