Try Japanese dried fish snacks. They are super nutrient!
What is dried fish, and what kind of nutrients does it have?
As Japan consists of islands surrounded by oceans, they have been eating fish and seafood as the source of protein for long as they have existed. They eat fish raw and/or cooked, but they have also been using drying as a preservation method. Traditional preservation methods such as drying or fermentation have become a lot less popular today as we have fridges and freezers, but dried fish is still used as a great source of broth as drying condenses flavors and nutrients.
いわし (iwashi, Japanese anchovy) is the most common type of fish that become dried fish, which are called いりこ (iriko) or 煮干し (niboshi). They are commonly used for miso soup and ramen broth.
Good quality dried fish are good to eat as is as snacks – just like beef jerky. People who should eat dried fish: kids and expecting moms, as they are rich in nutrients that are need for growth.
Relatively large dried anchovy about 2 inches.
You can see that dried fish typically use “blue” fish like anchovy.
Nutrients contained in dried fish
As is the case with other dried foods, dried fish can include more nutrients than fresh fish because drying process result in additional chemical breakdown.
Here are major nutrients in dried fish:
- Calcium
- Iron
- Zinc
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), another omega-3 fatty acid
- Vitamin D
Sun-dried fish contains more nutrients as microorganisms help the process of slow chemical breakdown to maximize the yield. But as it takes longer and costs higher, it’s difficult find sun-dried fish especially at affordable prices. Most products are mechanically dried at factories.
However, if you happened to be traveling coastal areas on Japan (which is almost everywhere), you may find great local products that do not make it to national markets. They typically use local, fresh ingredients and traditional methods. They are worth trying.
How to choose dried fish products that don’t have nasty fishy smell?
Dried fish are like beef jerky with small bones. The bones are definitely okay to eat – it’s a very good source of calcium. The bones in good quality dried fish aren’t bothering at all, as they are soft enough. You cannot tell you are eating bones.
More challenging will be avoiding products with nasty fishy smell.
How do you do that? Simply put, you have to choose high quality products. The types of fish used for drying is so-called “blue fish” such as anchovy that contain unsaturated fatty acid. It can oxidize if the fresh fish is not processed quick enough or appropriately. If a fish contains more fatty acid, it’s more susceptible for oxidation.
So you may want to avoid dried fish that contain oxidized fat. How do you do that? You can choose small fish species with less fatty acid. It’s also important to choose products made from fresh fish. According to experts, one of the tricks is to choose the fish that have curvy backs, as it’s a sign that it was processed when they were still fresh. On the other hand, if their bellies are curvy, it could mean that they were no longer fresh when they were processed.
However, as the rule of thumb, the quality is reflected in prices. You might want to choose a high quality one for your first product, as you don’t want to be discouraged by fishy smell.
Harapeko Iwashi (Hungry anchovy),
produced by a local company in Kagoshima Prefecture.
This product only uses anchovy fished in the morning.
The fish that hasn’t had breakfast yet has empty tummy,
so its guts don’t have things that smell nasty.
Yummy dried fish snack
I bought はらぺこいわし (hungry anchovy) product at the Hoshino Resort KAI in Kirishima, Japan. Local hotels are also a good place to find hidden local gems, as many regions are really focusing on leveraging local products to increase regional competitiveness.
The anchovy used in this product is larger than iriko or niboshi – they are about 2 – 3 inches. As it advertises, the anchovy in the package have thin stomach.
The “hungry anchovy.”
In the right picture, you can see shrunk guts.
Although it looks hard and fishy, in reality it’s not that hard and the meat is surprisingly tender. It had a lot of umami flavors, no nasty fishy smell. I clearly see the benefit of using “hungry” fish.
The “hungry anchovy” package says: “anchovy caught before breakfast
has clean guts and is devoid of unpleasant bitterness.
It only used salt for seasoning and was sun-dried for three days.
Explore undiscovered flavors by fully unleashing your taste buds!