Also if you want ask specifically about bonito broth (cause if they are not used to thinking like vegans they may forget that that hard dried thing was actually once a fish) it is katsuo dashi...
yeah bonito is a big problem. even at the sushi place here, i ordered grilled eggplant and it came with a HUGE amount of bonito flakes on it. i was so bummed. my mom was a trooper and ate it but the bonito flakes... move.... it's weird, i think partly just swaying in the air cause they stick up all over, and partly because they were starting to dissolve on the hot food but they totally looked alive and totally grossed everyone out at the table hahaha. as soon as it was brought over to the table i recognized the flakes and was just like "awwww, poo i can't eat that" and everyone else was all *shock*horror*disgust* "what the heck is that?????" it was pretty funny so not just in dashi but ON food also you have to be careful of bonito, they use it a lot as a garnish, even on tofu
I found it really hard being vegetarian in Japan I was pretty limited with food options because there's fish on most things.
ladyfaile wrote: yeah bonito is a big problem. even at the sushi place here, i ordered grilled eggplant and it came with a HUGE amount of bonito flakes on it. i was so bummed. my mom was a trooper and ate it but the bonito flakes... move.... it's weird, i think partly just swaying in the air cause they stick up all over, and partly because they were starting to dissolve on the hot food but they totally looked alive and totally grossed everyone out at the table hahaha. as soon as it was brought over to the table i recognized the flakes and was just like "awwww, poo i can't eat that" and everyone else was all *shock*horror*disgust* "what the heck is that?????" it was pretty funny

so not just in dashi but ON food also you have to be careful of bonito, they use it a lot as a garnish, even on tofu


Those bonito flakes are horrible! No matter how many times I explained to them i could not eat anything to do with meat they still sprinkled them on xD I remember I ordered a plate of tofu which I requested to have no meat or fish on the side and they still came with those awful sprinkles on! My friend was so kind though and scraped every single flake off for me but I still didn't want to risk it. :P