Artisan Soy Sauces and Tamari Too

[takadi]

I'm a weird guy. I think soy sauces are akin to fine wine and should be treated as such. It is such an unappreciated artform because of what is available these days in the US. As a result, I've been exploring the world of high quality, artisan, traditionally made soy sauces to break away from the La Choys of the world. And the world is endless, with soy sauces aged for years in oak barrels, unpasteurized soy sauces, etc.

I've only bought a couple of brands so far and open a few.

http://www.mitoku.com/products/shoyu/johsen.html

Mitoku Brand Johsen Organic Shoyu, and Mitoku Brand Sakurazawa Yuuki unpasteurized Shoyu

Johsen shoyu is quite different than most soy sauces I've tried, as it has toasty flavors of chocolate and coffee in it. Something about it reminds me much of a nice dark beer.

Sakurazawa is basically the essence of umami. It has an incredibly sweet aroma and flavor and is very subtle on the salt.

I have a small bottle of Mitoku's Yaemon Organic Tamari and Eden's select Shoyu that I plan on trying later, but there are so many out there (some that are quite expensive and are made by family owned breweries).

What are some soy sauces out there that you would treasure like your favorite bottle of wine?

[Kent Wang]

How do you use them? Only for dipping or also cooking?

[takadi]

I usually use them as dipping sauces because the cooking usually just breaks down the complex flavors. For cooking, I tend to use kikkoman, pearl river, or kim lan.

I also like using them as a glaze for fish and marinades for more expensive cuts of meat

Oh yea, I also love using them for tamago kake gohan, which is basically just plain rice, raw egg, and soy sauce mixed together. I like putting sesame seeds and nori on top.

Edited April 3, 2008 by takadi (log)

[MoGa]

The miso from the same brand was so good I felt encouraged to try their raw soy sauce. Excellent!

Like comparing an aged balsamic vinegar to a supermarket wine variety.

http://www.yamato-soysauce-miso.com/product_rawsoy.html - English

http://www.yamato-soysauce-miso.co.jp/okai.../s_hishiho.html - Japanese

Apparently, there's a 3* Michelin restaurant in France that uses it. Can't remember which one though...

Edited April 3, 2008 by MoGa (log)

[takadi]

*adds to list*

From the site:

"Moreover, "He-She-Ho" has an advantage that its enzyme (protein-cutting enzyme) makes meat softer"

Hmm, another reason why unpasteurized is so much more superior.

Is there a price listing for that specific soy sauce?

The only other "raw" soy sauce I know of is Ohsawa's Nama Shoyu (nama means raw). Apparently this stuff is made with clear spring water and aged for four years in cedar barrels in some secret mountain. lol. I think it was the top soy sauce for Cook's Illustrated, but apparently Chris Kimball during the taste test didn't care for it much

Edited April 4, 2008 by takadi (log)

[takadi]

Btw Moga, what do you use the soy sauce for?

[budrichard]

I obtained a bottle of aged in the wood Artisan shoyu but was never able to get another in the US.

An excellent product. We did a blind tasting using Japanese Kikkoman, US made Kikkoman, Kikkoman with bonito extract and another high end Japanese shoyu. This shoyu won hands down. Used plain or in dipping sauces.

I will try the Ohsawa's Nama Shoyu.-Dick

[takadi]

Translation of the bottle please?

I've heard some good things about Japanese Kikkoman, especially the one with the gold cap (supposedly the top label). I can never find those types of things in conventional supermarkets, even Asian supermarkets

Edited April 6, 2008 by takadi (log)

[Heartsurgeon]

Ohara Hisakichi Shouten Soy Sauce

available at the gratefulpalate.com (search for "soy")

VERY tasty...

[takadi]

WOW that's expensive. Must be the import costs

[budrichard]

My mistake, wrong label, here is the correct label:

Does anyone know of a US source for this shoyu? Thanks-Dick

[takadi]

That picture looks incredibly familiar, perhaps I saw it on this forum before? Anyways, I doubt there's a US source for those types of soy sauces, for I already have a difficult time with Asian supermarkets.

[MoGa]

Btw Moga, what do you use the soy sauce for?

←

I don't 'cook' with it and the only meat I eat is fish (so I can't comment on its tenderising properties), but it comes into its own with chilled tofu, as an accompaniment to home-made udon noodles, as a dip for raw fish and ripe avocado, as a last addition seasoning for cooked dishes and soups and for making Japanese style 'quick' pickles (basically - marinading vegetables for a couple of hours).

It's good enough that you can enjoy it by the spoonful; smooth and rich without being cloying.

The price of the sauce in yen is included on the Japanese page.

In the UK (Japan Centre) it is 3.45GBP for a small bottle. The Ponzu is the same price and the miso is 5.99GBP (although it is currently out of stock). The Dashi is also very good and at 4.56GBP for a litre represents excellent value (other brands are more expensive)

[sygyzy]

Where else do you buy the soy sauce from besides gratefulpalate?

[Kouign Aman]

I'd be tempted to put some in a liqueur glass and sip it. Seriously.

[takadi]

They do that with Balsamic

Btw, does anyone have the translation for the last picture Dick posted?

[Heartsurgeon]

you can buy "aristan" shoyu from Sur La Table, also earthy.com has a nice selection of upscale soy products..

[sygyzy]

Just ordered from earthy.com. Will buy from Sur La Table when I visit the store downtown (rather not pay shipping). Keep posting links. I want to amass a collection.

Found Mitoku products at a website called Natural Import Company. Pretty cheap too.

Edited April 21, 2008 by sygyzy (log)

[MoGa]

Found Mitoku products at a website called Natural Import Company. Pretty cheap too.

←

Many of these products are available labelled Clearspring in the UK

http://www.clearspring.co.uk/japanese

I've not been won over by this brand (which is one of the easiest to find when looking for Japanese food in Britain), their seaweed products have been disappointing and their version of yukari: http://www.clearspring.co.uk/content/shiso-condiment was downright disgusting (a real achievement as I generally love this stuff).

I'd be curious to know how someone familiar with well known Japanese brands of shoyu (such as Kikkoman) compare with something like the Johsen Shoyu http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/...oyu__500ml.html

[takadi]

The Johsen Shoyu definitely has a different flavor than any soy sauce I've ever tasted. It's quite toasty and has an almost malty coffee flavor

[takadi]

http://www.whitesoysauce.com/WSSStory.html

I found this interesting. White soy sauce, made with a higher percentage of wheat, has a mellower flavor and lighter color

They have a white soy sauce at earthy.com as well

Edited April 22, 2008 by takadi (log)

[maxmillan]

Can someone recommend a good brand of tamari soy sauce? Is there such a thing as an organic brand?

Edited April 30, 2008 by maxmillan (log)

[MoGa]

Can someone recommend a good brand of tamari soy sauce?  Is there such a thing as an organic brand?

←

Could you tell us which country you live in? Responses will be more useful with this information.

EDIT TO ADD:

I see from another thread that you are in Canada

(additional edit to remove link to this thread)

Most of the companies that import shoyu for the North American market seem to import tamari also.

Edited April 30, 2008 by MoGa (log)

[budrichard]

"The only other "raw" soy sauce I know of is Ohsawa's Nama Shoyu (nama means raw). Apparently this stuff is made with clear spring water and aged for four years in cedar barrels in some secret mountain. lol. I think it was the top soy sauce for Cook's Illustrated, but apparently Chris Kimball during the taste test didn't care for it much"

Purchased a quart of the Ohsawa Nama Shoyu and tasted against the other vat brewed shoyu we have. Since we don't have any of the shoyu whose picture i posted, my comparison against that shoyu is from memory only. Anyway, a very nice shoyu.

My conclusion is that these vat brewed shoyu's are like fine wines. Each is different with subtleties I'm not sure I can detect. But US brewed Kikkoman is good also, so, the final judgement is up to the taster.-Dick

[sygyzy]

What is "tamari" soy sauce?