How to keep the freshness

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Introduction

Keeping the freshness is the most important to make all kinds of Dried Small Fish. Small (infant) fish is easy to lose its freshness and if once the raw material loses its freshness, it is never usable as the raw material.

1. Preparing iced water
Iced water must be prepared before the start of fishing. A fishing boat must have a big tank and large quantities of minced ices when fishers sail out fishing. When they arrive at a fishing ground, they must make iced water before dropping a catching net to the sea.

This iced water is made from the same amount of ices and water. If the ices are floating on the water, you must put more ices into the iced water. The amalgam made from ices and water is needed.

Fishers must put the fish into the prepared iced water as soon as possible.

2. The trouble often happened.
Most fishers wouldn't like taking ice with them to the fishing ground because it takes some costs to buy ices. Fishers make various kinds of excuses. However, ice is absolutely needed even if fishers say like this, "you can see the fishing ground the very front from the sea shore. It takes only a few minutes from the fishing ground to the sea shore. The raw material never loses its freshness even if we don't use the iced water." There are many problems in their thought.

• a) Small (infant) fish is easy to lose its freshness within only a few minutes.
• b) The factory making dried small fish is generally busy. Therefore, sometimes it takes several minutes to start processing after the raw material arrived. Especially, in case of good catching, the raw materials will continuously arrive at the factory and it takes more times.
• c) Ices are not only beneficial to keep the freshness but also beneficial to tighten the protein of the fish body. It is also important to make Dried Small Fish.

No matter how fishers insist that ices are unnecessary, ices are absolutely necessary to keep the freshness.

The world of "Dried Small Fish"

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We, Japanese like eating dried small fish. There are many kinds of dishes made from dried small fish in Japan and there are also many kinds of dried small fish like following.

1. "Tazukuri" which is made from small (about 4.5 cm) anchovy (Engraulis), not boiled one.
   
2. "Chirimen" or "Shirasu boshi" which is made from especially small (1.5 cm to 3 cm) anchovy (Engraulis), boiled one.
   
3. "Maruboshi" which is made from middle size (7 cm to 11 cm) Etrumeus, not boiled one.
4. "Doboshi" which is made from small size (5 cm to 7 cm) Etrumeus, not boiled one.
5. "Kaeri" which is made from small (about 4 cm) anchovy (Engraulis), boiled one.
   
6. "Hirago Kaeri" which is made from small (about 3cm) sardine (Sardinops), boiled one.
7. "Ikanago" which is made from small (about 1.5 cm to 5 cm) Sand Lance (or Sand eel) (Ammodytes), boiled one.
8. "Gimpo" which is made from small (about 3 cm to 4 cm) Blennius, boiled one.

We like eating all items mentioned above but especially "Chirimen" is most popular in the Japanese market. The total amount of production in Japan is about fifty thousand to one hundred thousand metric tons per one year. However, this is not good enough for the Japanese market. So, we are importing about five thousand of Chirimen per every year from overseas. Today, we are importing Chirimen from Indonesia, China, Thailand and Korea and still looking for other countries where can produce Chirimen.

The unit price always changes and it's depending on the catching condition in Japan and the exchange rate of the Japanese yen. For example, now (Jun. 15, 1998), the price of Thai Chirimen is around US $ 5.00 per one kg. However, it was US $ 7.00 in October 1997. Moreover, it was US $ 11.00 in September 1996. The price seems to make a large change easily.

Here, I will show you some photographs and some simple documents written about how to make the dried small fish. If you have any information about small anchovy or Etrumeus, please send E-mail to me. I have further detailed information.

1. How to keep the freshness.
   Keeping the freshness is the most important problem to make any kind of Dried Small Fish and keeping the freshness is how to use the ice.

2. How to process "Tazukuri" (Oct. 15)
   This is the manufacturing method of Tazukuri.

3. How to process "Tare-Sakuraboshi (Mirinboshi)"(Jan. 28)
   This is the manufacturing method of Tare-Sakuraboshi (Mirinboshi).

4. Manufacturing method of Boiled & Dried Small Fish
   This is a basis of manufacturing method of Boiled Dried Small Fish. This method can be applied to making "Chirimen" and "kaeri" and "Ikanago" and "Gimpo."

5. Standard method of the moisture measurement
   This is a basis of the moisture measurement for Dried Small Fish.

6. Photograph collections of the Chirimen factory
   I took these photos at the Chirimen factory in Indonesia.

7. How to catch the small raw materials.
   I would like to introduce the way of catching in the Asian countries.

8. How to process "Doboshi"
   This is manufacturing method of Doboshi.

9. How to process "Niboshi" (Dec. 07)
   This is manufacturing method of Niboshi. And here, you can see what is the Hot Wind Drying Machine and you can also see the structure of drying room for the hot wind drying machine.

10. How to eat the Dried Small Fish in Japan.
    This is the way of eating Dried Small Fish in Japan.

11. How to prepare samples.
    If there are catching of small anchovy, you can prepare small quantities of samples easily.

12. How to send the samples to Japan. (Oct. 15)
    "How to send the samples to Japan" is a frequency question.

13. A new drying method in Japan
    Here, I'll show you a new drying method in Japan. In Japan, recently, the automatic boiling machine and automatic drying machine is utilized for drying small fish. I'll illustrate how to use these machines with my photographs.

14. The Structure of the "Chirimen" circulation in Japan.
    This is the structure of the "Chirimen" circulation in the Japanese market.

15. How to select the foreign materials. (Oct. 15)
    Selecting foreign materials is very important to export dried small fish to the Japanese market.

16. FAQ
    I have received many questions from many countries since I set this web-site on the Internet. Some of them were the similarly each other. I'll show you some questions and answers for reference. Please don't miss this part of my web page. There are many important suggestions for the dried small fish industry.

E-mail to Yoshihiko Hayashi:

FAQ about the dried small fish business

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1. Which catching method is better, trawling or round haul net?

   
   The best way is the trawling by two fishing boats using a Japanese way of net. Please refer to "How to catch the small raw materials" from the top page.

2. We need the detailed information about the catching net using in Japan. Please let us know of the size, total length, forms, and length of the different part (mesh of the entrances, middle and bottom).

   
   These sizes depend on the horsepower of fishing boats and the net is designed by the specialist of the fishing net. I can contact with the designer but getting a detailed design of the net take some costs for his work.

3. How many costs it takes for the installation of a Japanese automatic boiling and drying system?

   
   In Japan, it is said that the installation of a new automatic boiling and drying system takes around US dollars five hundred thousand ~ seven hundred thousand.

4. Please let us know of the detailed information about the automatic boiling and drying system. We will assemble it from our domestic parts by ourselves.

   
   Getting such detailed information is difficult for me because this is the business secret for the makers. Moreover, it is difficult for me to explain the details on the Internet because the mechanism is too complicated.
   
   Therefore, if you really want to know of it, you should come to Japan to see the machine by your own eyes. I'll take you to the place of Chirimen production and show you how to make the Chirimen in actual practice.

5. Which is the most salable commodity (marketable item) made from the Anchovy?

   
   The most salable commodity is the Chirimen but the market price of this item always moves largely. Compared with the Chirimen, Kaeri is inexpensive but the market price is so-so stable.

6. How many tons of products can I make per one factory?

   
   The daily output of an ordinary factory in Japan is about 4 ~ 5 tons in Max. However, for making this quantity, an automatic boiler and drying machine and good catching of raw materials is required.

7. Do you know the importer of the dried small fish?

   
   I'm importing 600 ~ 800 tons of dried small fish per year and I can accept more bigger quantities but it depends on the quality and price. Anyway, I'm one of the most active importers of this item in Japan.

8. What is the cause of the fluctuation of the Chirimen selling price?

   
   The catching quantities in Japan affect the demand and price for imported products. The main catching season in Japan is from May to July. From November to December, these months are the season of selling and buying Japanese special traditional food for the end of the year. We, Japanese eats the special traditional food at the end of the year and the New Year. Most wholesalers use their capital to stock these special items. So, the fluctuation will be after follows.

   • January: good
   • February: good
   • March: so-so
   • April: poor
   • May: poor
   • June: very poor
   • July: poor
   • August: so-so
   • September: good
   • October: so-so
   • November: poor
   • December: poor

9. There are large quantities of catching of the Adult Anchovy. So, we would like to start the dried small fish business, too. Please inform me of the prospect of this business.

   
   I'm afraid whether you can catch the small size raw materials because catching small size fish is more difficult than catching large one. Moreover, keeping freshness is also difficult in case of such small size raw material. You should investigate the possibility of the catching of small raw materials with fishers or researcher.

10. I would like to get a plan for building a Chirimen factory. Could you prepare it for us?

    
    The dried small fish industry is the traditional industry in Japan and most owners of factories are conservative. So, the factories are constructed by their experience and the traditional way. Therefore, it is difficult for me to prepare the plan for you.
    
    There are three ways of planning a factory. One is the way using a new Japanese automatic boiling and drying machine. One is the way using an ordinary Japanese boiling system and drying in the sun. One is the way using Indonesian style iron pots and drying in the sun. The plan for a new factory will be different by this point.
    
    Regarding to the automatic boiling and drying machine, I think there is no need to use such an expensive machine at the first step of this business.

11. Which way is better to boil the raw materials, Japanese way or Indonesian way?

    
    The raw materials caught in Indonesia is Indian Anchovy (Stolephorus indicus) and caught in Japan and South Korea is Japanese Anchovy (Engraulis japonica). Japanese Anchovy differs from Indian Anchovy in many points. One of them is the strength of the protein structure.
    
    The protein of Japanese Anchovy is easily broken at the boiling process. Therefore, we use Sunoko when we boil the raw materials. The Sunoko prevent the raw material from swimming in the boiling water.
    
    On the other hand, the protein of Indonesian Anchovy is stronger than Japanese one. So, the boiling machine utilized in Indonesia is very simple and it is easy to prepare it by yourself.
    
    In conclusion, making sure of the property of the raw material is needed. If the property of the protein is similar to the Indonesian fish, you can prepare the boiler at an inexpensive price. However, if the property of the protein is similar to the Japanese origin, you must prepare better quality boiling machines because such kind of protein is delicate.

12. What is re-processor?

    
    I often sell Indonesia and Thailand origin Chirimen to the re-processor. Most re-processors are the Japanese processors in themselves. So, they make Chirimen from Japanese raw materials in the Japanese catching season. They well know how to reprocess the imported Chirimen because they are the professionals of making Chirimen.
    
    The purpose of re-processing

    • 1) To give glossy brightness again on the surface of fish.

      The suitable temperature for Chirimen is around minus 8 degree. However, importers must wait several days while finishing the customs clearance. During those several days, we keep the products in a cold-storage approved by Japanese government. We would not like to use such cold storage because the temperature of the approved cold storage is too cold for the Chirimen. It is around minus 20 to 25 degrees. However, we cannot help using such too cold storage for the customs clearance. This too strong temperature often robs the brightness of the surface.
      
      The re-processing process gives moisture on the surface of fish and taking back glossy brightness.
      
      However, about the Indonesian products, the moisture contents condition of the first grade Indonesian products are very good. Such well-dried products can endure for this too cold temperature. Therefore, sometime we can use the first grade Indonesian products without re-processing.

    • 2) To take foreign materials off

      We sometime find many foreign materials in the imported Chirimen except Indonesian origin Chirimen. In the re-processing process, products were washed by clean water and dried again on the Sunoko & racks. When the re-processor washes the products, they use automatic boiling machine for washing. They do not boil it again, only utilizing the water current of the machine. They install small boards to the upper part and lower part of the water current. By the current, light foreign materials will be caught on the upper part of the small board and heavy foreign materials will be caught on the lower part of the small board. After this washing, re-processor dries the products on the Sunoko (drain net board) again by sunshine. Workers will remove the remained foreign materials by gazing Sunoko (drain net board) carefully. Some Japanese excellent re-processors are using a wind force selecting machine and a metal detector for further safety.

    • 3) To prevent the products from going bad.

      On the surface of some Thai Chirimen and Korean Chirimen, scum sticks because of lack of washing before boiling and using unclean boiling water. The component of this scum is protein and it causes becoming going bad and smelling. Re-processors remove this scum from the product's surface and make it clean by washing and by adding some natural chemical compound.

13. Reprocessing outside Japan is possible or not?

    
    Above-mentioned three (12-1, 12-2, 12-3) points are the main purpose of re-processing. Some exporter had said that they wanted to re-process by themselves. However, as I wrote above, some modern equipment and chemical compound are needed for this process. Moreover, the abundant experience and very delicate controlling must be needed for this process. So, I think re-processing outside Japan is impossible.

14. What is Sousaku-Chirimen?

    
    "Sousaku" means "original product" of the company's own. Mainly, Sousaku-Chirimen is made from Chirimen and dried food. The dried food are small dried shrimp, seasoned seaweed, sliced tangles, seasoned squid, smoked octopus, sesame, and so on. So, the Sousaku-Chirimen is the mixture of Chirimen and these food. This Sousaku-Chirimen is a factory product. So, there are many trade names per every maker but the typical product's names are like this.

    • Chirimen-Konbu: This is a very popular product made from mainly Chirimen and sliced seasoned tangles. We sometime call this item "Chiri-Kon." "Chiri-Kon" is an abbreviation of "Chrimen-Konbu."
      
      
    • Shiso-Wakame (or Shiso-Chirimen or Shiso-Chiri): This is also a very popular product made from mainly Chrimen and seasoned (beefsteak plant flavor) seaweed. Shiso means "Beefsteak Plant" and Wakame means seaweed in Japanese.
      
      
    • Sake-Chirimen (or Syake-Chirimen): This is a very popular product made from mainly Chirimen and minced seasoned salmon. We sometime call this item "Sake-Chiri (or Syake-Chiri)." "Sake-Chiri (or Syake-Chiri)" is an abbreviation of "Sake-Chirimen (or Syake-Chirimen)." In the east part of Japan, people call Salmon Syake but in the west part of Japan, people call it Sake in Japanese.
      
      
    • Nozawana-Chirimen: This is a product made from mainly Chirimen and pickled Nozawana (Japanese greens).

    
    We eat these Sousaku-Chirimen with boiled rice. We sprinkle these Sousaku-Chirimen on boiled rice and eat it. Sometime, these Sousaku-Chirimen are called "Furikake." "Furikake" is a general term of the tasty seasoned dried food for sprinkling on rice. "Furikake" is the stem of the word of "Furikakeru." "Furikakeru" is a verb and it means "Sprinkling" in Japanese.

15. What is Tsukudani

    
    "Tsukuda-ni" is a general term of food boiled in sweetened soy sauce and the materials are mainly marine products. The marine products are dried Gimpo, dried Ikanago, dried Chirimen, dried shrimp, Tazukuri, dried Kibinago, and dried Kaeri. "Tsukuda-ni" is made from not only such dried marine products but also raw materials. The raw materials are sea tangles, shellfish, prawn, small Pacific saury, anchovy, Ikanago, and cod.
    
    The word of "Tsukuda" comes from a place name of "Tsukuda-Jima (Jima means an island)" in Chu-ou-ku, Tokyo. From the Edo period, many fishers have been living in "Tsukuda" island and they have been making "Tsukuda-ni" from the marine products. The word of "-ni" of "Tsukuda-ni" means boiling. This is why "Tsukuda-ni" became a general term of food boiled in sweetened soy sauce.
    
    We eat "Tsukudani" as the side dish for eating boiled rice. Among many kinds of "Tsukudani," the "Tsukudani" made from small dried fish is very good as the side dish for eating it.
    
    The "Tsukudani" made from Chirimen and Japanese pepper is very popular in the west part of Japan. It is called "Chirimen-Sansyou" or "Sansyou-Chirimen" because Sansyou means Japanese pepper in Japanese.
    
    In ordinary, these "Tsukudani" are factory products. However, making some kinds of "Tsukudani" in home is not so difficult. This home made "Tsukudani" is popular in case of made from Chirimen and Tazukuri and raw Ikanago. The "Tsukudani" made from Chirimen is the "Sansyou-Chirimen" and made from Tazukuri is the "Tazukuri" or "Gomame."
    
    The "Tsukudani" made from raw Ikanago is "Kugidaki" and this is the local food in the Bansyu district. I'm living in the Bansyu district and my town (Akashi) will be covered with the soy source flavor when spring comes because spring is the season of Ikanago catching.

introduction

our name gunawan . our company is working in chirimen businness since 1990. our location factories alongnorth java sea. we can produce 4-10 ctn per month. main market is japan . we want to explore this chirimen more than usual. chirimen business have a lot business especially for absorb many workforce. if you have idea for expanding chirimen indonesia please give advice as best you can