28. Wooden barrel brewed soy sauce 100ml

"Shoyu Kingdom" - A place where you can experience soy sauce with all five senses

If you drive through the tranquil rural scenery of Hidaka City, Saitama Prefecture, you will come across the "Shoyu Kingdom," which you can tour freely. In addition to the food and drink corner where you can enjoy the famous soy sauce soft serve ice cream and egg on rice, you can also look down at the warehouse where many wooden barrels are lined up, and experience squeezing the moromi mash brewed in the wooden barrels. It is truly a kingdom of soy sauce. Factory tours are held at any time and no reservations are required.

Soy Sauce Kingdom opened in 2006 with the aim of making soy sauce more accessible, casual and fun to experience. The style of welcoming customers into the brewery was rare in the soy sauce industry at the time, and even fellow soy sauce brewers came to tour the brewery.

As an introduction to dark soy sauce brewed in a wooden barrel

The wooden barrel-brewed soy sauce is made from whole soybeans and wheat from Saitama Prefecture, and is aged for a year in a cedar barrel. It has a fragrant, strong bean flavor, yet a soft taste, making it extremely versatile. It is recommended as an introduction to dark soy sauce. "Most of our customers have always been local, and most of the soy sauce we make is dark soy sauce that is rooted in local cuisine," says Yoichi Yugeta, the fourth-generation owner. It is also highly popular among ramen shops, and is used by ramen shops famous for their chemical-free ramen.

For ordinary natto

"Which one do you recommend for natto?" is a question we get asked a lot at our stores. For regular natto sold at supermarkets, use this wooden barrel soy sauce. Regular natto has a slight bitter and astringent taste, so the sauce that comes with it is often dashi soy sauce, but for those who don't like dashi, we recommend this. You can enjoy the unity of soybeans and soy sauce, and you won't even notice the bitterness or astringency.

Combine with mirin for a gentle flavor

The soft-tasting soy sauce made in a wooden barrel creates a gentle flavor when used in cooking. Try combining it with mirin to make teriyaki fish or homemade nametake mushrooms.

Nametake mushrooms are a handy side dish to have on hand, and you can actually make them very quickly and easily without having to buy the bottled version at the store. Simply cut enoki mushrooms into thirds and stir fry in a pot with soy sauce, mirin, and sake (2:2:1 ratio) until the mixture thickens slightly. Nametake mushrooms have a gentle flavor thanks to the sweetness of mirin and the mellowness of soy sauce, and can be used in a variety of ways, such as on rice or tofu, or mixed into rolled eggs. If you use it instead of soy sauce on rice with raw egg on top, it will have a mellow, creamy taste that will have you asking for seconds.

The perfect balance of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil

For gyoza sauce, try mixing soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil in a 1:1:1 ratio. Wooden barrel-brewed soy sauce, with its strong bean flavor, balances the refreshing vinegar and the spiciness of the chili oil well. If you like it spicier, try adding more chili oil. Crunch! Sizzle! You'll be munching away, eating your rice and drinking your beer non-stop.