Maldive fish is a well-known ingredient used to add an appetizing, umami flavour to recipes, much like fish sauce or anchovies. It’s also a thickener and contributes proteins to dishes. Extremely popular in Sri Lankan sambols, where it is first ground into flakes using a mortar, then added to dishes where it is rehydrated by companion, liquid ingredients such as fresh coconut, chiles, etc.
Maldive fish is made from bonito, a fatty fleshed fish like tuna or mackerel. Bonito is boiled, smoked, and then sun-dried until it resembles petrified wood. Once the treatment is completed, Maldive fish can be kept indefinitely, without refrigeration.