Soy Sauce: Introducing The Real Stuff

I wrote about soy sauce over on Treehugger, noting that organic, traditionally brewed soy sauce is now available not only in Japan, but also exported to other countries. Kikkoman, Ohsawa and Kenyu Trading are among the companies making an effort to introduce the real stuff overseas.

I'm not sure this kind of post makes much sense to readers over at Treehugger. Is it relevant? What do you think? When I talk about "traditional brewing" I mean keeping the soybeans and the koji in cedar casks for up to four years. That takes patience.

Kōji, or kōji-kin (麹菌) the microoorganism, is also used here to make sake and miso. Not easy to explain to people who are used to considering food more as entertainment...

When I see the large variety of soy sauces in my local supermarket, I'm both bewildered and delighted. Being able to read kanji characters is a must: if I want a soy sauce that contains a 100% naturally fermented product, I select the Honjōzō hōshiki variety, while the Shinshiki hōshiki contains only 30-50% naturally fermented product. Oh well. Then there are the Tokkyū (Special quality, not pasteurized) and Tokusen (Premium quality, usually implies limited quantity) grades, and several others for the locally produced, more rare stuff that is seldom available in supermarkets. Regional differences are also common, for example in Osaka, where people like a less dark soy sauce with their sashimi. It contains more wheat than soy, hence the lighter colour.


Dr. Eiji Ichishima of Tohoku University called the kōji fungus a "national fungus" ("kokkin") in the journal of the Brewing Society of Japan, due to its importance not only for sake brewing but also for making miso, soy sauce and a range of other traditional Japanese foods. His proposal was approved at the society's annual meeting in 2006. Such a precious microorganism has been used very carefully here to create delicious foods for millenia.

Read more over at The Tokyo Foundation

Comments

Pandabonium said…
Perhaps it is too foreign a topic for the people based in the USA. So, while they probably use it, they don't get that like everything else we eat, it does matter how its made and whether the ingredients are organic or not. Just speculating.

Anyway, you've piqued my interest in trying some of these traditionally brewed brands.
2:18 pm, June 24, 2009
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe and Japan, con
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting
Read more