Dried Fish Quotes

“Katsuobushi is dried bonito, or skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). Chunks of the fish are smoked and dried into hard blocks, which keep for several months. Along with kombu, katsuobushi is the other main ingredient used in making dashi. Throwing the whole block of fish in the water won't work; it must first be shaved into flakes with a tool that resembles an inverted carpenter's plane. However, almost no one actually prepares the flakes by hand anymore; home cooks buy bags of them at the grocery store or use instant powder preparations instead. Although bonito is the most popular type of dried fish for making dashi, many others are used as well, such as mackerel (sababushi), bluefin tuna (magurobushi), and sardines (niboshi).”
― Tetsu Kariya, Japanese Cuisine

“It's no overstatement to say how good a soup is hinges entirely on the quality of the soup stock it uses. What on earth is this?! A flavor this rich and savory is a sign of high-quality stock! Where did you get this, kid?! I know there isn't a scrap of kelp or bonito or anything you could make stock from our kitchen!"
"Oh, that? I just happened to have some on hand."
"You made soup stock from cuttlefish jerky?!"
"Dried foods like jerky are filled to bursting with savory flavor. Just soak them in hot water and use a little bit of salt to even out the flavor... and you'll have a stock that can be a solid base for any rich and flavorful soup!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 2

“Laksa curry, did you say? That is a Southeast Asian dish known for its exceptionally slippery noodles. And I expect squid ink was used to give the roux this black color."
"But this utterly repulsive and vomit-inducing stench! Don't tell me you used-"
"Yes. It's Kusaya."
"I KNEW IT! What kind of garbage does this girl think goes in food?!"
KUSAYA
Salted dried fish, it originated in the Izu Islands. Blueback fish, like mackerel or flying fish, are soaked in a salty, sticky brine called Kusaya Jiru and then sun dried.
IT REEKS.
"Just grilling the stuff is enough to get you a pile of complaints from all your neighbors!"
"Ugh. Boiling it down makes the stench even more repugnant."
"This is my special handmade Kusaya! I used flying fish and mahi-mahi...
... and then soaked them in Kusaya Jiru I carefully, preciously refined over and over!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7]