Niboshi (煮干し)

Fishy Memory

One of my earliest memories is of these 3-4 cm long little fish which are used to make dashi, a soup or cooking stock used in Japanese cooking. Growing up in a family of recent immigrants from Taiwan, I remember being fascinated by the plastic packages of small fish. I don't recall ever eating anything made with the fish.

At age 5, it didn't occur to me at the time how bizarre the fish must seem to Americans. Looking back, it is a little strange that this product was available in Columbus, OH in the early 1980s.

When I visited Taiwan last year, I went to a seafood marketplace which sold various types of dried fish and shrimp for use in cooking.



The conical piles of dried seafood did not seem strange to me. In fact, they felt comforting.

When used in making dashi, the heads are pinched off and the innards are removed in order to remove bitterness. The niboshi are then boiled in water and strained.

Some people have found creative ways of using niboshi, such as promoting it as the basis of a new holiday which would replace Valentine's Day. If this trend caught on, I would probably then not be the only one with memories involving these small fish.