06. Shokin Light Soy Sauce 100ml

Shodoshima, the home of soy sauce, has 120 wooden barrels

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 wooden barrels lined up, one of the largest in Japan. When you enter the brewery, you will be greeted by the soft, gentle, and pleasant aroma of soy sauce.

One thing that is particularly noteworthy about Shokin Shoyu is how the barrels are managed. When the various flavors of soy sauce are stirred, some of the flavors inevitably splash back, but at Shokin Shoyu, this is wiped away thoroughly. The floors and edges of the barrels are extraordinarily clean. "Cleaning is hard work, but we do it because we want to make something that smells good," Fujii Yasuto says simply.

A taste supported by passionate fans

Shokin Shoyu'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 Shoyu does not 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. Therefore, even though it is a light soy sauce, it has a strong umami flavor, but it is not too overpowering and brings out the flavor of the ingredients.

Udon soup that brings out the flavor of the dashi

The first thing you should try with Usukuchi Soy Sauce is udon soup. You can easily make udon soup by diluting noodle soup, but if you make it from scratch, you might like udon even more. Just put dashi, soy sauce, mirin and a little salt in a pot and bring it to a boil. If you use light soy sauce, you can make Kansai-style udon that makes the most of the flavor of the dashi. With simple ingredients, you'll want to drink up every last drop of udon soup.

Colorful Nikujaga (beef and potatoes)

We are often consulted by customers who say, "My stews always taste the same." For those who usually make Nikujaga with dark soy sauce, we recommend trying a stew that makes the most of the colors and dashi stock of the ingredients using a light soy sauce base.

This is especially recommended when you buy some good quality beef. The soy sauce flavor is subtle, and the umami of the beef stands out, and you can also taste the sweetness of the vegetables. If you use light soy sauce, the color will be light, but it will add a solid depth and umami like dark soy sauce. This is an easy-to-use bottle even for beginners to light soy sauce.

The classic scallop butter is also light in flavor.

Fry scallops in butter and add a splash of soy sauce in the frying pan. This is a classic way to eat scallops, and you can imagine what it tastes like, but by using light soy sauce, you can bring out the sweetness of the scallops themselves while still being able to enjoy the richness of the butter. Light soy sauce is subtle but still has a strong umami flavor, so you won't even notice the fishy smell of the scallops.