This month's Artisan Soy Sauce Set [July]

Isekura White Soy Sauce / Isekura (Mie Prefecture) 

Isekura White Soy Sauce has a strong character and is recommended for dishes with a bolder flavor than simple clear soups or omelets. It pairs well with oil, so it's great for salt ramen, chilled Chinese noodles, French dressing, etc. It also brings out the sweetness when combined with sugar.

For a slightly more unique way to use it, try making a simple milk jam by simply mixing milk, cream, and sugar and boiling it down. It has a thick, sweet milk flavor, but you can enjoy the mellow aftertaste of white soy sauce. It goes well with toast, pancakes, and ice cream.

Murasaki Daijin / Okubo Brewery (Nagano Prefecture)

Murasaki Daijin is characterized by its clear color and fragrance. By adding amazake to soybeans, wheat, and salt, it has a rich aroma with a subtle sweetness of rice. This is a must-try for those who say, "I don't use light sake because it's too salty..." It is especially recommended for use in clear soups where color and fragrance are important, as it brings out the flavor of the ingredients while retaining its presence.

Light soy sauce can be used as a sauce for meat or fish dishes, or for pasta. Murasaki Daijin has a pleasant aroma that hits you the first time you sip, and it doesn't overpower the color or flavor of the ingredients. "Lemon Butter Soy Sauce Sauce" combines the acidity of lemon and the saltiness of light soy sauce with the richness of butter, resulting in a light and refreshing flavor.

Morning / Ota Yohachiro Shoten (Miyagi Prefecture)

Koji making was revived in 2017, and new barrels were introduced in 2020. The product name "Asaake" comes from the light crimson color that can be seen the moment the soy sauce is pressed in the early morning in the port town. It also contains the meaning of "morning dawn = the beginning of a new era" in the soy sauce brewery and soy sauce culture.

Asaake, the first soy sauce pressed in 2021, has a light and refreshing taste. Instead of pressing all the ingredients together, the soy sauce is pressed in small batches every few months, allowing you to enjoy the unique flavor of each soy sauce. It can be used in a wide range of dishes, from dipping sauce to cooking. A recommended dish is simmered hijiki seaweed, making your everyday home cooking even more delicious.

Igeta Rich Soy Sauce / Inoue Honten (Nara Prefecture)

Inoue Honten in Nara Prefecture is also known for its "Igeta Soy Sauce." It is made with domestically grown soybeans, wheat, and sun-dried salt and aged for three years. It has a rich yet sharp flavor. Its strong flavor pairs perfectly with lean sashimi and meat dishes.

It also goes well with dry curry. When it comes to curry, you want to add various secret ingredients, but this dish is simple and seasoned with only salt, pepper, curry powder, and soy sauce. The richness and mellow flavor of Igeta Rich Soy Sauce brings the whole dish together. It's also important to use curry powder with a good aroma!

Tsuresoi / Aichi Prefecture (Nanzo Shoten Prefecture)

Its rich reddish-brown color makes it beautiful to look at. Made only from soybeans and salt, it packs a superb level of umami. When you put it in your mouth, you'll be able to taste the sweetness and enjoy the rich, deep flavor. Perfect for sashimi or other dishes.

Tamari soy sauce clings well to sashimi and eliminates its strong odor, making it a great choice for lean meat. Tsuresoi has a good balance of richness and mellowness, making it easy to use even for those new to tamari soy sauce. Taking advantage of its bright color and richness, it is also recommended for pickling.

Sanshu Mikawa Mirin / Kadoya Bunjiro Shoten (Aichi Prefecture)

They use specially cultivated domestic glutinous rice and rice koji made from rice grown in Aichi Prefecture. They also brew their own shochu, with meticulous attention to detail in the ingredients and production method. It is aged for two years. Its refined sweetness and umami have many fans across the country.

One of the effects of mirin is to remove the fishy smell of meat or fish when cooking, but to make this effect even more pronounced, we have created a more fragrant mirin. We work backwards from this to create our shochu, which elevates dishes with its clean umami and crisp sweetness. If you've never used real mirin, try starting with this Mikawa mirin. You'll be amazed at the difference in the finished dish.

"Sanshu Mikawa Mirin" single item page

Buttered rice soy sauce / Ariya (Gunma Prefecture)

Butter and soy sauce rice has been loved for generations at a soy sauce brewery with a 180-year history in Gunma. This recipe has been commercialized. Recommended for butter lovers. Try it with warm rice. It can also be used in dishes that call for butter.

Butter and soy sauce rice is said to be the ultimate lazy meal, but precisely because it is simple and straightforward, it is something you want to be particular about. Many people try using a different brand of rice, a special butter, or even a special soy sauce. Put butter on hot rice, pour butter and soy sauce over the melted butter, and stir vigorously to create the aroma of a good old-fashioned dinner table.

"Butter rice soy sauce" single item page

Ginger white dashi (300ml) / Yamashin Brewery (Aichi Prefecture)

The perfect combination of ginger and white dashi. This white dashi is carefully crafted by Yamashin Brewery using plenty of ginger. The refreshing and flavorful aroma of ginger and the mellow umami of white dashi . In the summer, it's refreshing with cold tofu or somen noodle soup. In the winter, it's warming with hot pot broth or soup.

It can be used in a wide variety of dishes, such as rolled omelets, udon noodles, ginger pork, and seasoned rice. Just add it to create an authentic flavor.

"Ginger White Dashi (300ml)" single item page

Wooden barrel-brewed soy sauce and bonito floss / Yamayoshi Kunizawa Hyakuma Shoten (Kagoshima Prefecture)

This moist furikake is made by carefully crafting Satsuma Honkarebushi (dried bonito flakes) made from line-caught bonito landed in Kagoshima Prefecture by a kunsho (a craftsman of Satsuma dried bonito flakes). The shaved bonito flakes are then mixed with brewed soy sauce brewed in a wooden barrel and island sugar, and slowly simmered until soft, then topped with fragrant Yatsushiro green laver.

Denbu is a staple food for rice. Of course, you can eat it on hot rice, but I also like to enjoy it in ochazuke (rice with tea). The slightly sweet broth is delicious.