From the birthplace of Japanese soy sauce: Yuasa Town, Wakayama Prefecture

February 23, 2013

soy sauce.

If my dad, who is working away from home, " even" has a chaotic room where he lives with demons and monsters, I'll scold him lol

...

Soy sauce was introduced to Japan surprisingly recently, during the Kamakura period.

A certain Buddhist monk learned how to make miso while training at Jinshan Temple in China.

After returning to Japan, I discovered that Yuasa, now part of Wakayama, had the ingredients and environment necessary for making miso.

When the miso was soaked, a black liquid accumulated on top.

Wow, what an indescribable smell!

He scooped it up with his finger and licked it.

"...!?"

At that moment, the monk's pupils must have dilated and taken on a light never before seen.

It also goes well with rice, so in this salty liquid with lots of umami,

"soy sauce"

Apparently he named it... (in the style of a Japanese folktale)

Soy sauce originally comes from "jan" (hishio), a liquid made from salted fish or meat that was used as a preserved food .

These first appeared in books from the Spring and Autumn period, but fish sauce and meat sauce were already being consumed by the Yellow River civilization around 5,000 years ago .

...

On his return to Japan last week, Inazo visited Yuasa Town in Wakayama Prefecture, the birthplace of Japanese soy sauce .

Soy sauce is synonymous with rice, so it's important for rice merchants to know about the condiments that go hand in hand with rice.

The method of making soy sauce is quite simple. It is no longer the tamari soy sauce of the Kamakura period.

Steamed or boiled soybeans are mixed with crushed wheat and koji mold to make "moromi," which is then added with salt water and left to sit for a certain period of time before being squeezed and refined.

In the old days, when the traditional method of making sake in wooden barrels was used, only five ingredients - soybeans, wheat, salt, water, and koji mold - were used and left to age for about one and a half to two years.

It requires stirring to promote fermentation, which is a time-consuming process. This is how true soy sauce is made.

Nowadays, bargain items costing 400 yen per liter can proudly call themselves "soy sauce." Speaking of its ingredients...

In addition to the five types mentioned above,

Amino acid seasoning, high fructose corn syrup, alcohol, sweetener, coloring, thickener, acidulant...

These are the usual funny faces you'll find in processed foods. Well, additives are necessary to produce foods quickly and cheaply.

Well, shouldn't it be classified as "soy sauce flavored seasoning" rather than just soy sauce ?

Most people don't care about inorganic phosphorus or high fructose corn syrup, and only buy it based on price and image.

Once you turn forty, you suddenly start to look older and get sicker, but for some reason, you don't really pay much attention to what you eat.

I should have made it a habit from a young age.

In addition, the soybeans used as raw materials are

Whole soybeans

That said, there are cases where soybeans are used as they are,

Defatted processed soybeans (soybean meal)

However, sometimes the residue left over after squeezing the oil is used.

82% of soy sauce produced in Japan is made from defatted soybeans, which naturally means that the ingredients contained therein are different from those made from whole soybeans.

To repeat, this is a soy sauce-flavored condiment that is a mixture of real soy sauce and various other ingredients, which are so different from each other.

Is it possible to think of it on the same level?

...

And Yuasa soy sauce.

The umami ingredients are

1.5 times stronger than regular dark soy sauce!

As the name suggests, it has a delicious salty taste and a mellow weight that expands in your mouth.

Naturally, there is no smell of alcohol.

That strangely sweet soy sauce-like seasoning flows smoothly and waterily when poured from the neck of the bottle.

This one is thick and rich, with a concentrated umami flavor, and the liquid is like a dark red wine. Can you imagine the difference in quality?

Chocolate with over 90% cacao content, bitter taste and a hint of sweetness

and,

A cocoa-flavored snack with less than 30% cocoa and lumps of sugar, with a bland sweetness

The difference is about that much.

The real thing is great. The satisfaction is multifaceted and profound.

Reaching a new world. It's like the sound of a bell ringing in the Alaya-vijnana (deep psyche) in Buddhism.

There must be a moment like this in life♡

In terms of the price per 100ml, it's more than six times the price of the special sale item (around 400 yen per liter)...

Of course, the ingredients and the time and effort required are completely different.

However, even though we use soy sauce every day, we don't use a lot of it.

Salt, sugar, mirin, vinegar, oil

I once again realized that I wanted to stock up on high-quality items , including these essential items for a home-cooking household .

That's it.

You don't have to use Yuasa soy sauce; as long as it's made with whole soybeans and is additive-free, you can use different soy sauces, one to add during the cooking process and one to pour directly over the finished product .