It has as niche market in Japan but is reasonably popular in North America because of the macrobiotic movement - which isn't a philosophy I subscribe to. I may try and get hold of some as you've awakened my curiosity. Thank you so much. US Kikkoman for instance, is burnt, flat, and in my opinion, nasty. Its flavor is sublime! :), I live in Japan, but I don't know any Japanese. Many Japanese grocery stores in San Francisco have recommended thick sauces - but they are Japanese BBQ sauces and definitely different (Tamari made with 100% soy does exist. It would be difficult to live without. This article was so timely for me! Some types of soy sauce also include fermented rice (kome koji) or amazake to give sweetness to the flavor. Currently, except for food grown in the immediate area near the Fukushima reactors (the 'no-go zone'), food in Japan has been shown to be safe. Wishing you well in your recovery. Wishing you a "healthy" and "foody" 2012, http://www.justhungry.com/handbook/just-hungry-reference-handbooks/japan... Should nama-shoyu smell vinegary and sharp? nama-shoyu. Nama Shoyu is made with respect to the same time honored methods using raw ingredients over 400 years ago. Thank you so much. Your local general-Asian grocery store will probably only have koikuchi (plus soy sauces from other nations). They had organic veg., many gluten free products and other products for people with allergies. In Kyushu, sweet soy sauce is so popular that is rarer to find non-sweet soy sauce when you are in the region. I'd like to add that I've noticed a huge difference between soy sauces brewed in the US and those brewed in Japan, even under the same label. I'd use usukuchi if I was going to be eating something that was quite flavorful and I didn't want to drown it out with the shoyu. On the contrary, usukuchi soy sauce is saltier than koikuchi soy sauce - 18-19% of its volume is salt, compared to around 16% for koikuchi. You can buy 100% wheat free soy sauce (not just tamari) in Japan fairly easily, although you may need to look online or at health food stores or in the health-food section of department stores or supermarkets. Nama Shoyu (raw, unpasteurized) is a prized ingredient with a long tradition in Japan. ^.^ Now I know a lot more about soy sauce~. Can you provide details on Kagoshima soy sauce which is sweeter? I will be living in Japan soon for a while and I would like to know, are there any 100% Tamari varieties available in Japanese markets? Tabu’s Nama Shoyu contain more enzymes than the more common pasteurized Shoyu. Its pH is very close to that of the human body. :D Thanks! We use it sparingly and never heat it, so it is worth the price for us. Japanese (not general-Asian) grocery stores have a variety of soy sauces, and you can just look for the country of manufacture. nama shoyu sauce, 10 fl oz. And that is an interesting tidbit about the gluten in the fermenting process. This is the soy sauce I use in all of my recipes here on Just Hungry as well as on JustBento unless specified otherwise. In traditional Kyo-ryori (Kyoto cuisine), which has its origins in refined imperial court cooking, dark colored koikuchi soy sauce is considered declassé and ruins the flavor and appearance of food. While 'standard' soy sauce (see koikuchi below) usually does not have any additives, in some cases things are added (usually alcohol) to prolong the shelf life of soy sauce, or sweeteners to give it a sweeter flavor. It's tamari soy sauce touted as GF/wheat-free, fat free, with no preservatives added. The type of soy sauce used in largely influenced by what part of the country you live in, or where the cook of the family grew up. wide selection of soy sauces to choose from in the U.S. ‹ Miso Basics: A Japanese miso primer, looking at different types of miso, Japanese basics: Nanban sauce or vinegar (Nanbansu) ›. https://sarahfit.com/recipe-that-amazing-ginger-sauce-from-life-alive Optimal well-being literally comes from good vibrations. Very nice reading! Thank you for sharing that useful information. 2021 Makiko Itoh, I found your article because I was at Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market today eating sushi when I noticed they were putting a brown sauce on top of the sushi. It's the soy sauce of choice in the Tokyo/Kanto area and the north. disclaimer: actual product packaging and materials may contain additional and/or different ingredients, nutritional or proper usage information than the information displayed on our website. I was wondering if Japan is growing genetically modified soybeans? Nowadays you have a wide selection of soy sauces to choose from in the U.S. as long as you're willing to mailorder - go nuts if you want! I do love your content. But the process is fundamentally the same. Before pasteurization, people died regularly from food poisoning and such. Koikuchi literally means 'dark mouth'. They market it as a "nama shoyu". It's unique in that it is re-brewed (that's what 'saishikomi' means) from a previous batch ofmade soy sauce. Yamasa I believe does not make their soy sauce overseas. Both are also supposed to use soy beans that are GMO-free etc. There's also Koyo, a local brand, but the sauce is japanese. This is awesome... love breakdowns of basic ingredients like this. Basically, you can use the fresh soy sauce Nama Shoyu in the same way as usual soy sauce. Purists argue that this also leads to a loss of flavor and body. I'm really not sure. It hits the same part of the palate as soy sauce and other sauces listed here. I always buy my soy sauce from my asian grocery, making sure I have the imported, made in Japan Kikkoman. Ohsawa’s White Nama Shoyu is particularly special, as its hand-crafted with double the amount of wheat of standard white shoyu to concoct a richer, thicker, more densly-flavored sauce. Do you have any idea what this is and how I could find it? (Did you know there are several Japanese fermented fish sauces too? I'm not sure why my local Korean-Japanese mart has stopped carrying it. Shoyu is the Japanese name for soya bean sauce, a dark brown condiment made from soybeans that undergoes a centuries-old fermentation process. The fresh soy sauce is packed with plenty of umami, and when heated, it becomes more fragrant. It's a condiment and flavoring, something to be used in small amounts. It is funny that you prefer yamasa over kikkoman. I usually buy Yamasa Marudaizu or regular Yamasa. Phil. The second most popular type of soy sauce is usukuchi　（淡口; kanji scholars may notice that the kanji 淡い is used rather than 薄い). Regular soy sauce is typically made from equal amounts of soybeans and wheat, while white soy sauce (which is actually golden) is produced with more wheat than soybeans. Just so you know, in the USA you can find the soy sauce brand "La Choy" -- it is gluten-free and suitable for us who need such a thing, too. Thank you for sharing such useful information. I must check it out as for this purpose in my house we have always used chinese soy sauce, but what kind exactly I won't know until you make another post and tell me ;)). I would imagine these types would be gluten-free. It's very interesting to read in such depth about the basic staples of Japanese cuisine, but it also reminds me how scarce my local Asian shopping scene is. And since you mentioned gluten intolerance, do you know anything about labelling in Japan. If not, let me know in the comments as always. I've read that they are both the same, and also that ki-joyu is just a culinary term used by chefs and such to say 'straight soy sauce' without the addition of mirin, sake or other ingredients. It's the only soy sauce that's naturally lower in salt. Refrigerate it or no? Also, koikuchi soy sauce is the 'standard' as noted above, and much easier to get a hold of than other types. It's produced on a small scale by a Japanese family business (now in the third generation) in British Columbia. Many people in Japan called nama-shoyu ki-joyu; both terms have the same kanji characters (生醬油). Sweet soy sauce, or amakuchi shoyu, is the most popular type of soy sauce in the Kyushu region of Japan (southern most area). She was so vehement about it that she went over and grabbed the owners wife to back her up and the verbal altercation that ensued was amusing...almost like out of an Itami film... Have you ever written about nameko oroshi? It would be difficult to live without. Technically, this variety is known as miso-damari (味噌溜り), as this is the liquid that runs off miso as it matures. The Japanese Soy Sauce Association adds two more grades that are higher than Special Grade: Extra Select (特選, tokusen) and Ultra-Extra Select (超特選, choutokusen). I use it all my recipes as soy sauce substitute. From what I can tell Lima sells shoyu and tamari made by the long established San Jirushi Corp. from Kuwana Hello, first time commenter here. Koikuchi soy sauce is usually made with equal parts of soy and wheat, plus salt and yeast. How to Use Nama Shoyu. Thank you very much for this generous article, hope the problems with the blog are being solved : ). Shoyu is simply the name for the Japanese-style soy sauce, which can be light (usukuchi) or dark (koikuchi). It's fairly hard to find in regular supermarkets, however I have seen it at Great Eastern Food Centre on Russell Street, and also at Fuji Mart adjoining the Prahran Market. Natural aging in hand-made cedar-wood kegs through at least two summer seasons creates a sauce that is unsurpassed in flavor and quality. Thanks you for this article. Thank you! I have bought Lee Kum Kee soy sauce in Hawai'i and brought it home with me. Unlike common soy sauce that is artificially aged for months, Ohsawa Organic Nama Shoyu uses traditional fermentation methods and a unique double brew process. Soy sauce is graded both by the Japaneese Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry (JAS) and an industry group called the Japanese Soy Sauce Association. Every time I go to Japanese store, I want to try something new, but there are so many different types! Tamari is soy-sauce-like product that originated as a by-product of making miso. Mass produced soy sauce is made from defatted soy residue (soy from which the oil has been extracted), which makes the soy sauce ferment a lot faster than using the whole bean. My question to you and your readers is - do any of you have recommendations for good wheat-free tamari? I'm really hoping you can answer a question of mine. This is the quintessential soy sauce that you see for sale from brands like Kikkoman and Yamasa in Japanese grocery stores around the world, and since it is the 'starndard' soy sauce for many people it is not always labeled as koikuchi. I would like to know your thoughts on storage of soy sauce. I'll be switching back to a less powerful sauce once this bottle is done though, it's a little too strongly flavoured for my palate. Try some with your next meal. I am allergic to wheat and gluten, so I have to go with the wheat-free tamari. http://www.kamadafoods.com/english/index.php. That would definitely be a precious addition to anyone's cupboard. And because of this unique process, Nama® Shoyu can be made with significantly less salt than common soy sauce. I'm not familiar with that brand. Dr. Masaru Emoto, Director of the Hado Institute in Tokyo and author of Hidden Messages in Water, has water crystal photographs from this spring that reflect its beneficial effects. Thank you for you have entered the joy and happiness to my heart Thanks for mentioning Saishikomi, it's my personal fav followed by Usukuchi. It's made in japan, but bottled by a Canadian brand. Natural food connoisseurs will tell you, "It doesn't get better than this!" I need to do more soy-simmered dishes I guess. In my opinion, anything with the high levels of sodium soy sauce has can never really be a "health food". Now, it is time to look for other soy sauce brands. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about artificial sweeteners; this is one soy … Everything I tried - pasta, rice, tea, osenbei - was of high quality. Grading is based on measuring the chemical composition soy sauce, mainly for its amino acid and alcohol content. The kanji characters for soy sauce or shoyu are 醤油, which literally means 'fermented food oil' - so in Japanese and Chinese there's no 'soy' at all in the 'soy sauce' name. Great info, I was one of those people who believed tamari was generally gluten free, also it is great to know that it is the sauce that should be used for dipping or marinating/ glazing. Sweet soy sauce is not an official category by the JAS, but is actually considered a segment of dark soy sauce. This means the color is very intensely dark red-brown, and the flavor is less salty and sweeter more rounded than other soy sauces. This beautiful, light, almost rose-colored 'nama' (unpasteurized) shoyu delivers in every way. Also can I order wheat free tamari online while I am out there? to teriyaki dishes. This smell is unlike that of any soy sauce I've had. I've been using a brand of soy-sauce called "Lifesource". How long should I keep it? It is not that it was a little bit different, it was just off. Tamari is more viscous than koikuchi shoyu. But of course, Your Body May Vary. Besides, given the numerous, proven incidents of Chinese food exports being contaminated in one way or another, in some cases on purpose by the producers, it's the height of irony to consider Chinese soy sauce to be in any way 'safer'. I was asked this question while I was shopping in a Asian supermarket in Brussels.It is said that it is used as a dipping sauce for sashimi.Thanks. For instance the ancient Romans liked a thing called garum, a strongly flavored condiment or sauce made from fermented fish. Method: In a powerful blender, add the garlic cloves, the ginger, the Nama Shoyu… Unlike common soy sauce that is artificially "aged" for months, Ohsawa Organic Nama® Shoyu uses traditional fermentation methods and a unique "double brew" process. If you can only afford one soy sauce type (budget or space-wise) in your kitchen, get the best koikuchi (or regular) soy sauce you can afford.