Mitsuboshi Ibuki Iriko Shirodashi (三星食品 伊吹いりこのしろだし)

The story behind it

Mitsuboshi Shokuhin Kogyo began when a founder and three young makers took over in order to carry on the flavor of Aisei, an old shoyu shop in Ehime. The shoyu (soy sauce) was named Mitsuboshi. The brewery stands in Tanbara-cho, Saijo City.

The dashi in this shirodashi comes from Ibuki iriko: dried sardines caught around Ibuki Island in Kagawa Prefecture. They are boiled and dried very soon after landing, which yields a clear dashi with little off-flavor. They are among the most highly regarded dried sardines in the Seto Inland Sea.

Being a shirodashi, it adds no color. The iriko flavor stays while the saltiness is held back, so it suits dishes where you want the ingredients to keep their own color.

The Seto Inland Sea belongs to a dashi culture built on dried sardines rather than bonito flakes. The sweet aroma of iriko is the foundation of flavor here.