Two craftsmen who were destined to meet.
Salt-making masterEnjiroI first encounteredNaniwa KombuThe president of the company, Mr. Keiichi Kohama, is a master of kelp who is second to none when it comes to talking about kelp and dashi.
"There was a product that I hadn't been able to complete.Enjiro"I thought maybe I could make it if I used Mr. Kohama's salt," said President Kohama. He was surprised when he received the finely powdered salt made especially for salted kelp.
Salted kelp can only be covered with finely powdered salt, not regular salt.EnjiroI suggested, "If you send me your salt, I'll use a grinder to grind it into fine powder and use it," but he replied, "If I use a machine, the taste of the salt will change, so I'll send you the salt that I've ground by hand."Enjiro.
Afterwards, when the finely powdered salt, which had been made entirely by hand, arrived, President Kohama was surprised, saying, "I can't believe it's possible to make such a finely powdered salt by hand?"

The ingredients used to make shio-konbu are salt, konbu, and soy sauce, with no additives whatsoever.
That's why we paid close attention to the materials we used.
We use only the highest grade (Grade 1) of rare natural kelp from southern Hokkaido, which is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain each year.
For soy sauce, use tamari soy sauce, which contains a lot of umami ingredients.
Salt isEnjiroWe used a specially made product made specifically for salted kelp.

First, kelp is cooked in soy sauce, then dried, cut into strips, and loosened by hand.
The salted kelp is then dried further and finally sprinkled with salt to complete the process.
At first glance, the process may seem simple, but we put effort into every step, focusing solely on making the food delicious.
For example, the drying process. Drying at a high temperature will speed up the process, but the disadvantage is that the konbu will become hard. To ensure that the konbu is plump and thick, it is dried at a constant temperature over a long period of time.

It can be served on rice or used as an ingredient in onigiri. It goes well with rice, of course, but it can also be used as a condiment for pasta or stir-fries, or as an ingredient in salads.