This article is part of our series on other kinds of bushi. We recommend reading our article on how katsuobushi is made, how it is shaved, the different parts of katsuobushi and the different kinds of katsuobushi to better understand the terminology used here.
Excluding some of the more contemporary experiments with katsuobushi mold (looking at you guys in the koji community!), toribushi (鶏節) is probably the only non-fish bushi made in commercial quantities in Japan. Even then it’s mostly used in chicken speciality shops, sometimes as a topping and sometimes to make stock.
As you’d probably expect, the parts of the chicken rich in collagen and fat, such as the thighs meat and wings, are not ideal candidates for making into bushi. Because of that, only the breast meat is boiled, smoked and dried into the arabushi stage. They’re usually sold in machine preshaved bags and not sold as whole pieces as they can be difficult to shave into nice thin shavings by hand. They are never fermented further to the karebushi stage.
The taste of toribushi is interesting because it yields a dashi with a light mouthfeel, yet contains a depth of savouriness. This is because the toribushi flakes are simply steeped in hot water, combined with the fact that chicken breast in itself doesn’t contain a high amount of collagen. As a comparison, the lip smacking mouthfeel of french chicken stock usually requires chicken carcasses to be boiled for a number of hours before the collagen starts to break down into the stock.
As a result, the use of toribushi allows you to create a mildly flavored chicken dashi in a short amount of time that is able to pair well with different ingredients without being overpowering. Though bear in mind that with any sort of bushi, there will always be a layer of smokiness added due to the manufacturing process.
It’s possible to find toribushi sold in thin shaved (薄削り), thick shaved (厚削り) and powdered forms (節粉). The powdered toribushi is used as a topping for soup dishes while the thick shaved flakes can be boiled at a low simmer for 30 to 40 minutes to create a more intense chicken dashi.
In comparison to all other types of bushi on the market. It actually yields the lightest stock, on par with that of magurobushi with the bloodline removed. As seen from the images of thin shaved toribushi, it is extremely light in colour.
This is an ingredient we recommend trying at least once if you can get your hands on it, before deciding if it is for you.
