JAPANESE SOY SAUCES

Japanese soy sauces as a gift

More and more small Japanese breweries are returning to their roots and offering traditionally fermented soy sauces made by hand. Particularly impressive are those production facilities that still use wooden barrels, some of which are very old.

With this craftsmanship quality and beautifully designed labels, they are suitable as a gift for 

• Gourmets who want to get to know the variety of Japanese soy sauces
• As a finishing touch for dishes at top chef level.

Soy sauces for gifts in our shop:

1. Traditional double fermented Sojasauce from Kyoto Saishikomi 100 ml
2. Traditionally brewed smoked soy sauce 100 ml
3. Traditional soy sauce aged in wooden barrels with Ume 100 ml
4. Koikuchi Shoyu soy sauce with garlic 100 ml
5. Tamari aged in cedar wood barrel 100 ml
6. 3 years aged in wooden barrels Tamari 100 ml
7. Shiro Tamari aged in cedar wood barrel 100 ml
8. Double fermented "raw" 2-year-old soybeansauce Nama Shvote
9. White soy sauce brewed in wooden barrels (Shiro Shoyu)
10. Soy sauce Shiho unpasteurized 300 ml

Soy sauces for everyday use

In everyday life, dark soy sauces, called Koikuchi, and Tamari are best suited. Most soy sauce recipes known in Europe are based on them. They have a very strong flavor and contribute umami, the 5th taste.

Suitable soy sauces in our assortment:

1. Kikkoman Koikuchi 150 ml
2. Kikkoman Koikuchi 250 ml
3. Kikkoman Koikuchi 1 l
4. Kikkoman Koikuchi Double Pack 2 x 1 l
5. Kikkoman Koikuchi 1.9 l
6. Kikkoman Koikuchi 20 l
7. Kikkoman Koikuchi 1 l reduced salt
8. Kikkoman Tamari Sauce 250 ml
9. Kikkoman Tamari Sauce 1 l
10. Kikkoman Tamari 20 l
11. Yamasa Koikuchi 150ml
12. Yamasa Koikuchi 1 l
13. Soy Sauce Shibanuma Koikuchi 150 ml

The Japanese soy sauce

 ...is made from soybeans, wheat, water, and salt with the help of the fungus aspergillus oryzae through fermentation. There are five main categories of soy sauce: 

• koikuchi
• Usukuchi
• shiro
• tamari
• Saishikomi

They differ in terms of ingredients by their proportion of wheat and soybeans and the brewing method.

1. KOIKUCHI (koikuchi shoyu)

... is the most widely distributed soy sauce in Japan with a dark brown color and lots of umami and flavor. It is made from wheat and soybeans. Well-known brands include Kikkoman and Yamasa.

 Koikuchi in our assortment:

1. Kikkoman Koikuchi 150 ml
2. Kikkoman Koikuchi 250 ml
3. Kikkoman Koikuchi 1 l
4. Kikkoman Koikuchi Double Pack 2 x 1 l
5. Kikkoman Koikuchi 1.9 l
6. Kikkoman Koikuchi 20 l
7. Kikkoman Koikuchi 1 l reduced salt
8. Yamasa Koikuchi 150ml
9. Yamasa Koikuchi 1 l
10. Soy Sauce Shibanuma Koikuchi 150 ml
11. Traditionally brewed smoked soy sauce 100 ml
12. Traditional soy sauce aged in wooden barrels with Ume 100 ml
13. Koikuchi Shoyu soy sauce with garlic 100 ml

2. USUKUCHI (usukuchi shoyu)

... is somewhat lighter in color and milder in taste than the "normal" Koikuchi soy sauce. However, the salt is less bound, making the Usukuchi taste more intensely salty. Its basic ingredients are also wheat and soybeans.

3. SHIRO (shiro shoyu)

... is mainly produced from wheat and only a small amount of soybeans. It is very light in color and is therefore often used as an ingredient where umami is to be added, but the color of the dish (such as in sashimi) should not become too dark. Therefore, it is very suitable as an ingredient for European dishes that gain more complexity through umami without immediately taking on a typical Japanese note. It is also marketed under the name white soy sauce.

Shiro soy sauces in our assortment:

1. White soy sauce brewed in wooden barrels (Shiro Shoyu)
2. White soy sauce (Shiro Shoyu) brewed in wooden barrels 1.8 l
3. White soy sauce mild (Shiro Shoyu) 1.8 l
4. White soy sauce low salt (Shiro Shoyu) 1.8 l
5. Shiro Tamari aged in cedar wood barrel 100 ml

4. TAMARI 

... is mainly made from soybeans without wheat. It is very dark and has a very strong aroma. If it contains no wheat at all, it is gluten-free.

 Tamari in our assortment:

1. Kikkoman Tamari Sauce 250 ml
2. Kikkoman Tamari Sauce 1 l
3. Kikkoman Tamari 20 l
4. Tamari aged in cedar wood barrel 100 ml
5. 3 years aged in wooden barrels Tamari 100 ml

5. SAISHIKOMI

... is a double-brewed soy sauce. A finished (Koikuchi) soy sauce serves as the base, in which the same ingredients are brewed again. The fermentation period is therefore longer overall than with other single-brewed soy sauces. The aroma of Saishikomi soy sauces is very complex.

Reprinting in our assortment: 

1. Traditional double-fermented soy sauce from Kyoto Saishikomi 100 ml
2. Double fermented "raw" 2-year-old soy sauce Nama Shoyu

How much umami do the different Japanese soy sauces have?

Umami is created by the breakdown of proteins into amino acids during fermentation. The strongest Umami component in soy sauces is the amino acid called glutamate. Its proportion varies among the different soy sauces.

Source: Umamiinfo.com

Note: The specified umami values are averages and have not been analyzed or calculated for the individual soy sauces offered.

What is the best soy sauce?

There is no such thing as the best Japanese soy sauce in and of itself. The choice depends on personal taste on the one hand, and on what the soy sauce is to be used for on the other. Even in Japan, tastes vary greatly by region. The soy sauces of the different categories originate from different regions and are preferred in their home areas. In southern Japan, in Kyushu, sweet soy sauces are especially popular.

Which soy sauce to use for what?

The stronger the flavor and the more umami a soy sauce brings, the greater the contrast to the dish it is intended for. For dishes where the inherent flavor of the (rather few) other ingredients should remain in the foreground, a light Japanese soy sauce with less umami - such as a white soy sauce - is the appropriate choice. For dishes with many ingredients and many spices, a strong Japanese soy sauce Koikuchi with a lot of umami is recommended. Examples:

• Use of soy sauces with a light flavor and less umami: sashimi, carpaccio, tartare, and all recipes where the soy sauce should not "overpower" the taste.
• Use of Japanese soy sauces with a strong flavor and lots of umami: wok dishes, noodle dishes, and anything where the soy sauce should provide the right "kick."