5 wooden barrels of soy sauce from Shodoshima
You can also compare the taste of light, dark, and re-brewed soy sauce!
Shokunin Shoyu No.
Passing on the taste of wooden barrel brewing to future generations / Yamaroku Soy Sauce (Kagawa Prefecture)
What makes Yamaroku Soy Sauce unique is that it is brewed in wooden barrels. And it is made from those wooden barrels themselves. Over time, the number of soy sauce breweries that use wooden barrels for brewing has steadily decreased, and there is only one barrel maker left that manufactures wooden barrels. "It will be fine for my generation, but by the time my children and grandchildren are old enough, wooden barrels will no longer be around," Yamamoto felt, so he decided to become an apprentice to a barrel maker along with two carpenters from Shodoshima.
They then began making their own barrels in 2013. From there, they reached out to barrel-making breweries across the country, and members from different manufacturers and industries are working together to make new barrels. By disclosing and sharing their techniques, they hope to increase the value of wooden barrels themselves, and many craftsmen have gathered on Shodoshima as part of the "Kioke Craftsman Revival Project."
Tsuru sauce
Tsurusho is Yamaroku Soy Sauce's signature re-brewed soy sauce, visited by many people from all over Japan and the world. It is a four-year aged soy sauce, made by aging dark soy sauce for two years, then adding mash and aging it for another two years. It is characterized by its rich, deep flavor and mellow taste, and a rich aroma that spreads throughout the mouth. Some people say that after trying it once, they can't use any other soy sauce.
The rich, rich Tsurusho soy sauce, aged for a long time, pairs perfectly with tuna. We especially recommend it with red sashimi, which is the epitome of tuna! It eliminates the fishy smell of sashimi, bringing out the flavor of both the sashimi and the soy sauce.
chrysanthemum sauce
Made with large, umami-rich black beans from Tanba and "Sanuki no Yume 2000" wheat from Kagawa Prefecture, this soy sauce is aged for two years in a 32-koku cedar barrel. After natural filtration, the soy sauce is pressed slowly under pressure. This traditional dark soy sauce is characterized by its light, crisp umami flavor, a hint of sweetness, and above all, its beautiful color and rich fragrance.
Kikujiang is a perfect match for meat dishes such as gyoza, shumai, and steak. The refreshing taste of the soy sauce brings out the umami and sweetness of the meat. While a soy sauce may go well with pork, it may not go so well with beef, or the soy sauce may taste good when eaten with a dipping sauce but not when used in cooking. However, Kikujiang brings out its sharpness and pleasant aroma in a variety of meat dishes.
A taste supported by passionate fans: Shokin Soy Sauce (Kagawa Prefecture)
Shodoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture is famous for its soy sauce production, with 17 soy sauce breweries lined up in a row. Shokin Soy Sauce has 120 cedar barrels lined up, one of the largest such numbers in Japan. When you enter the brewery, you'll be greeted by the soft, pleasant aroma of soy sauce.
One thing that is particularly noteworthy about Shokin Soy Sauce is how the barrels are managed. When stirring the soy sauce's various flavors, some of the flavors inevitably splash back, but at Shokin Soy Sauce, this is wiped away thoroughly. The floor and the edges of the barrels are extraordinarily clean. "Cleaning is a lot of work, but we do it because we want to make something that smells great," Fujii Yasuto says casually.
Shokin Light Soy Sauce
This light soy sauce is made from domestically grown soybeans and wheat in wooden barrels. It's also a raw type that hasn't been pasteurized. Shokin Soy Sauce's light soy sauce has a total nitrogen content, an indicator of umami, of over 1.5%, which is a high value by general standards. Shokin Soy Sauce doesn't brew light soy sauce and dark soy sauce separately, but instead separates the same batch of moromi into light and dark soy sauce based on the finish and brewing period. This means that even though it's a light soy sauce, it still has a strong umami flavor, but it doesn't overpower the rest, bringing out the flavor of the ingredients.
The first thing we recommend trying with light soy sauce is udon soup. While it's easy to make udon soup by diluting noodle soup, you might find yourself loving udon even more if you try making it from scratch. Simply add dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and a little salt to a pot and bring to a boil. Using light soy sauce will give you Kansai-style udon noodles that really bring out the flavor of the dashi. With simple ingredients, you'll want to drink up every last drop of udon soup.
Inheriting a 400-year tradition / Yamahisa (Kagawa Prefecture)
Stepping into Yamahisa's storehouse, you'll see barrels lined up closely together, neatly lined all the way to the other side of the deep storehouse. There are 154 barrels in total. "Unlike miso production, there's no need to move the barrels, which is why they're lined up so closely together," says President Uematsu Katsutaro.
The soy sauce matures slowly over time in these barrels. While most regular soy sauce production takes four to six months, Yamahisa uses natural fermentation to produce its soy sauce. As a result, it is not uncommon for the fermentation and maturation process to take two years. This production method fully demonstrates the experience and intuition of a craftsman with over 50 years of experience. "By taking the time, the salt blends in. The salty edge disappears, and the soy sauce becomes delicious, with a rich, umami flavor, and is not just salty when you put it in your mouth." This knowledge has been passed down to the younger brewers.
organic soy sauce
Yamahisa is a pioneer in producing organic JAS certified soy sauce. We were given the opportunity to observe the soybean steaming process, where soybeans delivered from the Kanazawa region of Ishikawa Prefecture were being steamed. Stepping into Yamahisa's storehouse, we were greeted by the sight of barrels densely packed together, neatly lined up all the way to the other side of the deep storehouse. There were 150 barrels in total. The sight was truly impressive.
This soy sauce also uses domestically grown organic soybeans and wheat. The same goes for the salt, which is only sun-dried using the sun-dried salt production method. The oily whole soybeans give the soy sauce a strong reddish color, while the sun-dried salt adds a subtle sweetness, creating the Yamahisa flavor. This is a slightly dry, dark soy sauce with a strong brewery aroma and a strong bean flavor. Perfect for those who are particular about ingredients.
soybean paste
The soy sauce, which took a year and a half to make, is used instead of brine and brewed again for another year and a half. Domestically produced soybeans and wheat are used, and the soy sauce is fermented and aged in cedar barrels. It has a powerful flavor, strong aroma, acidity, and a crisp, distinctive taste, but it doesn't feel salty, all thanks to the thorough aging process.
We recommend using it with meat or in cooked dishes. If you want to enjoy the flavor of the ingredients rather than the taste of a sauce or dressing, soy sauce is the way to go. While a light dark soy sauce is fine, try using a slightly richer, re-brewed soy sauce. It has been aged for a long time, so the flavor is concentrated and it pairs perfectly with oil. What's more, the aroma improves as you heat it, so you can pour it directly over hot, freshly grilled meat, or use it as a wasabi soy sauce.
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