Making Soy Sauce At Home

[Logs N Lounges Wood]

Looks good Bionut did you add spores or let natural ones take? How is the soy going now? Mine is still sunning away it seems to be getting darker, not sure will have to take a picture and compare to the one from awhile ago as I look at it daily. The sludge in mine is still fermenting slowly. Wish you luck and look forward to how it turns out.

[bionut]

I did not added spores. My cookies aren't in brine yet, i had to dry them before that. I think that today i will make some brine and add the soy cookies.

[Seitch]

How's everyone's soy sauce doing?

 

I found this article and thought you guys would be interested.

 

http://www.lifeonnanchanglu.com/2011/12/twelve-steps-to-making-traditional.html

[danielkurniadi]

Hello and greetings from Indonesia,

Thank Goodness i found this forum.

I'm interested in making my own soy sauce, just buy some soy beans and still soak them for overnight before cook'em. As tropical country, sun and humidity is ideal to make soy sauce. Here we have our unique soy sauce called "Kecap" (just like ketchup pronounciation). There are two varieties, Sweet (Kecap Manis) and Salty (Kecap asin), basicly use black soy bean, palm sugar, garlic, cinnamon, star anniseed, etc. But unfortunately i don't have any relative who related with traditional kecap factory. i let you know when i get some information.

 

A lot of traditional kecap factory closed because of no more market, no next generation owner (commonly they are family business), losing market to modern huge factory, or lack of ingredient supplies.

I wish i can taste my own soy sauce later, and preserving cultural heritage?

 

I will update my progress. Wish me luck.

 

Thanks.

Daniel Kurniadi

Smokie Nduty Artisan Charcuterie

www.facebook.com/SmokieNduty

Edited August 22, 2015 by danielkurniadi (log)

[Shelby]

Hi Daniel and welcome!  I can't wait to hear more about your soy sauce!

[Toliver]

Welcome, Daniel.

If you can, please post pictures of your progress. I find it all fascinating.

[danielkurniadi]

My soy cake on 3rd day. i think Indonesia has the right climate / humidity for growing mold white powder is all purposed wheat flour, to prevent soycake stick on the bamboo.

 

Got error in first trial, it supposed to steam / cook first then blend, but i accidentaly blend first, then after half way, i realized that i haven't cook it yet. LOL. i boiled it, and have an extra pot of soy milk

 

well, i'll soak some soy again tonight, making new one, with the right method.

Edited August 26, 2015 by danielkurniadi (log)

[danielkurniadi]

After 5 days, my soy cake turns dry and hard, and the fungus looks terrible, more black fungus than the white one. am i failed? or the fungus dead? suggestion please?

[danielkurniadi]

Second batch, 3rd day.

the black mold still dominant, and white mold only seen on the top of the soy cake.

 

i sprayed  directly with water sprayer to keep them moist. top it with some newspaper to make  dark environment.

 

PS: the black mold maybe Mucor racemosus Fresenius, which involved in Tou Shi fermentation in Sechuan.

Edited September 1, 2015 by danielkurniadi (log)

[takadi]

Wow, so EIGHT years after first posting on this thread, I finally decided to take the leap and make my own soy sauce. I used a mixture of organic whole wheat flour and white flour.  Combined with the really warm weather around here the mold has taken hold very quickly despite being only two or three days. Little bits of black, yellow and green mold, but mostly white mold, both the fluffy and spotty kind.  It already is very aromatic, very hard to describe...kind of bready and kind of "meaty". I guess all the baking and fermenting in my house has made it teeming with awesome cultures. I'll take a picture of the molded loaf slices after in a few days.  

 

After much research I've decided on a brine concentration of 18%. I think I will skip the drying process and just put the bean loaves directly into the brine

Edited September 2, 2015 by takadi (log)

[danielkurniadi]

Wow, so EIGHT years after first posting on this thread, I finally decided to take the leap and make my own soy sauce. I used a mixture of organic whole wheat flour and white flour.  Combined with the really warm weather around here the mold has taken hold very quickly despite being only two or three days. Little bits of black, yellow and green mold, but mostly white mold, both the fluffy and spotty kind.  It already is very aromatic, very hard to describe...kind of bready and kind of "meaty". I guess all the baking and fermenting in my house has made it teeming with awesome cultures. I'll take a picture of the molded loaf slices after in a few days.  

 

After much research I've decided on a brine concentration of 18%. I think I will skip the drying process and just put the bean loaves directly into the brine

Hello Takadi, nice to meet you. My question to you: is the black mold really safe? Not poisonous?

My soycake contain white and black mold only. I'll take a picture soon

 

Soycakes day 5:

 

 

Even mold grows on the back of bamboo tray

 

 

Are those soy cakes ready to put in brine? or need more days?

Thanks, Takadi.

Edited September 2, 2015 by danielkurniadi (log)

[danielkurniadi]

UPDATE:

 

Rest in peace soycake number 2. The wold is successful but i found a lot of maggots.   Discard right away! *sigh*

I suspect small flies around the bamboo tray.

[Shelby]

Oh no!  Dang.  

 

Will you try again?  Hopefully takadi will come back and be able to answer your mold questions.

[takadi]

Hi Dan, I can not speak about mold species from an educated position. Other than brine strength I am taking a completely unscientific "artisan" approach to this. From what I've read, the goal is to destroy the microbes with the salt but not the enzymes that act on the proteins and sugars of the wheat and soy. So in theory the "bad" microbes that produce toxins will not survive past a certain brine percentage.

 

From the many many blogs I've scoured on the internet where people are taking on this home-made soy sauce venture, almost all of them have bits of black mold here and there but none of them have the black mold dominating. There are black colored koji molds but I am unsure if the ones in your culture are of the koji strain. Most koji i've seen is white or yellowish. I suspect maybe your molding environment is too moist, which is also probably why there were maggots. I simply covered my soy loaves with a single layer of wetted paper towels, one or two layers of newspaper, and some single sheets of cling wrap scattered on top. 

Edited September 3, 2015 by takadi (log)

[danielkurniadi]

Shelby: yes i am! still soaking 1/2 Kg of soya bean again

 

Takadi: i think so, the weather now is quite hot and humid here in Indonesia. and i think maggots comes from fly eggs which laid down on the soy cake, maybe next time i'll put some "barrier" to prevent flies coming.

 

I have an idea using Korean method, which mean make "Meju". From pure soya bean, no other rice or grain like Chinese or Japanese method.

I watched on Youtube, here:

looks easier hehehe..

 

Thanks for your reply.

[takadi]

Here are my molded loaves! I couldn't wait any longer...I think they are ready for the brine don't you?

 

 

 

 

I think I finally know what that "meaty" smell is. It smells like natto and a little like blue cheese and tempeh. There's also a yeasty smell I recognize from making rice wine. Lots of funky stuff going on.

 

As was in Sambucken's case, you could definitely feel a heat emmanating off of it

 

I think I will be continuing to use sight and smell as my main metrics for this experiment.  To me a "fishy" smell or rotten/unpleasant smell will be a sign of failure as well as any sort of weird pest or microbial infestation. That will mean to me that the brine strength was too weak and/or the wrong microbial strains have taken hold.

 

Fortunately I will be the only test guinea pig in the taste tests so my friends and family can rest easy

Edited September 3, 2015 by takadi (log)

[takadi]

Daniel: Very interesting! I actually ran across a blog where someone attempts to make the korean version.

 

http://chocolateglutton.com/2014/06/25/mo-mi-shoyu/

 

I might try the korean version on my next go around. I'm curious at what the drying process does. Seems very similar to cheese/charcuterie making

[danielkurniadi]

Thanks for the link Takadi.

My mom just told me about her childhood experience, my great grandmother made her own taucho (indonesian taushi?) Using ungrounded soy bean, steamed, combine with rice flour (not wheat, wheat doesn't grow in indonesia), add tempe yeast, and fermented in a ceramic jar. And she said that the mold should be white and yellowish. And now i persuade her to make an experiment on her own hahaha. She bought tempe, slice it thinly, put in an airy place, then when moldy she dried it under direct sunlight on a baking tray. I'll post the photo later

Edited September 4, 2015 by danielkurniadi (log)

[danielkurniadi]

Experiment number three: Meju Making.

 

500gr of dry soy beans.

 

 

Steamed for 2,5 hours!

 

 

Mashed and put into a bowl, then pressed with hands. make air pocket as little as possible

 

Cheese anyone?

 

OK, tomorrow must find a good plan to avoid flies.

 

Problem solved!

 

 

See you tomorrow!

Edited September 4, 2015 by danielkurniadi (log)

[danielkurniadi]

Hello again, this is 3rd batch experiments. changed the cover with a better one.

i just exposed the meju directly to the sun and moon for 3 days

 

 

and i realized it still wet inside but dry outside, and mold starting to grow. same white and black mold. but i hope this time without maggots

 

OK, will report more in few days.

[danielkurniadi]

more update:

 

i dry the meju in direct sunlight at noon, and move it to dark and warm room at night, the result is good, when i move them in the morning, heat generated under the basket, feel warm.

 

black, white, and pinkish / orange mold. no maggots .

[takadi]

Oh god I think I made a mistake. I forgot to account for the weight of the actual soybeans and flour when calculating the salt percentage. 18 percent is supposed to be the *final* salt percentage of the soy sauce, not the initial brine. The soy sauce doesn't smell terrible but it's starting to form a pellicle on top which isn't a good sign.  I'll start over but I'll add more salt to this batch and let it continue to ferment in another batch to see where it goes. 

[danielkurniadi]

Hai Takadi, can you tell me why we need to weight the actual soybean and flour?

[hummingbirdkiss]

I am in! I have read and reread  … I have 2 Korean friends who  make soy sauce and miso but they buy the pre made cakes at the market ..when I mentioned that i was going to try to make the cakes I got an automatic revulsion over it and they directed me again to the market 

 

so I am going to read research and follow you folks …along  with the advice of my friends who fight over how they do it anyway iso this should be fun and they both make incredible sauce and miso ..

 

when I get a break and feel confident I am going to  make one with the home made cakes I will make one with the store bought cakes as well and see how different this is 

 

I absolutely ADORE home made Korean chunky dark miso it is the best thing I have ever eaten miso wise and I have so much trouble finding it that if takes making my own soy sauce to get it ? that is what I am doing 

 

please add any and all info you may think interesting because even if not posting ..many of us will be reading for sure 

thanks so much! I hope to reciprocate someday when I get to making it 

 

I live in the Puget Sound grow lights and a fan if we do not have another summer like we just had! 

Edited September 28, 2015 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[danielkurniadi]

Hello hummingbirdkiss, welcome to the DIY club