Preparing Niboshi

It is easy to give a good deal of flavour to dashi by using niboshi, (small dried fish) just by boiling them well, but unpleasant fishy odours and undesirable tastes often come as an accompaniment. For this reason, it is best to remove the head and stomach section of the niboshi (see the picture below) and then clean well before incorporating into the dashi. Fresh, good quality fish do not need to have these parts removed, but they must be very carefully cleaned nonetheless.