Niboshi

Niboshi (sardines séchées)

What it is

Niboshi are boiled and sun-dried within a single day, and west of Osaka the same fish is called iriko instead — one product, two names, split along an old dialect line. Their oils oxidise quickly, so unlike katsuobushi they are kept cold and thrown out at the end of a season rather than aged.

In the kitchen

Pinch off the head and pull out the black gut before brewing, then steep them cold overnight instead of boiling. Anything above a simmer draws out exactly the bitterness the gutting was meant to prevent.

Goes with

Kombu Soy sauce Miso Daikon Soba noodles Hon-mirin

Same species

Anchovy Anchovy paste Boquerones Colatura di alici Myeolchi-aekjeot

Also used with

Disodium inosinate Urume-bushi

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