Whether it's fresh kelp or soaked dried kelp, you need to blanch it before cooking or cold salad. The first point is to drop a proper amount of white vinegar into the pot when blanching. White vinegar can well remove the fishy smell in kelp and also play a role in refreshing it.

After blanching, kelp doesn't need cold water. Other ingredients with cold water may keep crisp and tender taste, but kelp with cold water will get worse and become chewy.