Maldive fish is the Sri Lankan equivalent of South East Asia’s dried shrimp, dried anchovies and shrimp paste and the Japanese Katsuobushi. It has a concentrated aroma and flavour of the sea, much like dried shrimp but leaning more towards that of fish. Like dried shrimp, maldive fish chips are jam packed with umami flavour, a little goes a long way.
Maldive fish is essentially dried and cured fish, usually tuna, the jar above says katsuwonus pelamis, which is skipjack tuna. It is used in very small amounts in Sri Lankan and Maldivian cooking and also in certain cuisines of the very south of India.
