During my holiday, I had the most authentic Katsuo Tataki cooked by my father in Japan. I left Brisbane on the 10th of December, travelled through the Romantic Road in Germany, Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Japan. For the next few weeks, I am going to share the recipes of Japanese food that I had while I was in Japan! The first one is the most authentic and fresh Katsuo Tataki.
Katsuo is bonito and tataki is raw fish seared with a burner or the outside of the fish briefly fried in a frying pan. It is served with grated Daikon radish and ponzu garnished with green shallots. The recipe I am going to share is the most authentic one because the recipe is from my father who was a fisherman. I grew up in a small fishing village in Wakayama prefecture where there are many world heritage sites, such us Kumano kodo. Five days out of seven days of the week, there would be a fish dish on our dinner table. I was sick of eating fish or seafood everyday. Recalling back those days, I now think how lucky I was to grow up eating such healthy, fresh, and nourishing food.
After I travelled through Germany, Amsterdam, London, and Paris with my daughter, we went back to Japan for two weeks to attend my daughter’s coming of age ceremony. Having Katsuo is rare in winter but my parents’ acquaintance in the village gave us a freshly caught Katsuo(bonito)! My sister’s family was visiting us from Hyogo prefecture and my mom wanted to give some of the Katsuo to her as well, and we used the rest to make this delicious dish for ourselves for dinner.
My father usually cooks the fish. He told me if fish is fresh, the meat and skin comes apart easily. When the Katsuo was given, my father cut it straight away so as he said, the skin comes off easily and beautifully. My sister took half of it and we made Katsuo Tataki the next day. In Japan, I usually use store bought Ponzu because Ponzu is readily available from any supermarket. Ponzu is a Japanese pantry staple sauce but outside of Japan, it may not be a sauce that anyone can buy easily. So I include home made ponzu recipe as well as listed Ponzu in the shop. Enjoy 😀
Katsuo Tataki 鰹たたき
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh Katsuo(bonito) fish fillet
- 2 tbsp green shallots chopped for garnish
- 1 cup Daikon radish grated
- 1 clove garlic
Ponzu sauce
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Combine all ponzu ingredients and set aside
- Add crushed garlic to ponzu and set aside
- Shear the Katsuo piece with a cooking burner ( if you don’t have one, fry it on a frying pan briefly all side)
- Put the sheared Katsuo block in a icy cold water immediately to avoid the katsuo cooked farther.
- Take the katsuo out, wipe water and sliced it about 1 cm thick.
- Place sliced katso on a plate and pour the prepared ponzu sauce over the katsuo.
- Garnish with grated Daikon radish and green shallots.
great work love it !
thank you!!
konnichiwa, Shihoko
I still can’t see the recipe !
claude, from France, who mostly fed on katsuo tataki while spending time in Kooshi, Shikoku, last year !
Hi Claude, I am so sorry for this inconvenience. It is a glitch and I need an IT person to look at this and has not solved the problem. I am really appreciate for your patience. Ohh Lucky you, Kochi is famous for Katsuo!
Hi Claude, I finally fixed it!! yay. Sorry for taking this long.
Where’s the recipe?
Hi Ari Thank you for your comment. There is a glitch and it is being investigated. Hopefully the recipe will be back up there soon. Thank you for letting me know 😀
Shihoko-san,
Katsuo no tataki looks delicious. you are lucky to have a father who can cur a whole bonito into blocks and make tataki!
Konnichiwa Yumiko san, Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Thank you, it was delicious and felt so lucky to eat fresh bonito in winter and cooked by my father 😀