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So you think you know soy sauce? See how this source of fermented umami flavor has evolved in Kyushu.
Foreign how’s it going I’m Doug and I’m here in fukoca City the gateway to Kyushu I’m from Canada but I’ve been here close to 30 years and one of the great features of this city is the food now what gives the local Cuisine the real edges the soy sauce There are countless
Number of soy producers in this city alone please join us on a journey as we explore the roots of soy sauce throughout the island of Kyushu show you at the heart of Japanese Cuisine in Kyushu the seasoning is highly evolved with different types paired with specific dishes
And its range of flavors tends to gravitate sweeter the further south you go on Journeys in Japan Doug who’s based in Fukuoka travels at 350 kilometer stretch of Kyushu from north to south to Savers shoyu’s rich flavors and Aromas foreign stop he discovers how they bring out the full Taste of local Delicacies
It’s all fantastic Kyushu some 1000 kilometers Southwest of Tokyo our culinary Journey kicks off in itoshima to the north this peaceful Seaside town is home to a brewery that continues crafting soy sauce in the time-honored way before Oh yeah this must be the place Wow how old is this place it looks ancient already starting to get the rich Aroma of the soy This maker has been operating for around 130 years foreign the process begins by mixing steamed soybeans with toasted crushed wheat in which Koji mold is added this is left to rest for a few days After adding brine the whole mixture is left to mature and ferment in Cedar barrels to make mash ers these barrels which have been used since the 19th century store bacteria that enrich and deepen flavor It’s a little salty but there’s a deep rich taste see how using this would be great for different recipes not just for putting on fish but mixing into stews foreign straining the liquid from the mesh the shoyu is ready for bottling this authentic method with long maturation and no additives is on the
Verge of Extinction this Brewery still directly delivers to its local customers some 1000 households for free Doug tags Along on a run and there’s no need to wait for orders the Brewers know just when families are about to run out foreign foreign [Laughter] Um using only natural ingredients wooden barrels Thyme and the human touch this Brewery is committed to Quality to serve its community Oh here it is I’ve heard this a really interesting chop let’s go inside and check it out foreign this Boutique specializes in all things soy sauce with an emphasis on Kyushu products well there’s so many different types and what about the color here this one is a Sala soy sauce
Right before Japanese tofu and free yogurt and ice cream as well it’s not a sweet soy sauce it’s nice okay but it’s still made mainly from soybean yes wow I’ve never heard of anything like that before Kyushu is long produced an array of flavors sweet Umami rich or citrusy to complement
Regional and seasonal dishes Apparently one thousand styles so we have a tasting room so let’s try our soy sauce okay you can drink a lot more okay good oh it’s got a nice space to it as well from the many bottles on the counter oh hamadachi selects some customer favorites Fresh crisp daikon slices are perfect for appreciating their differences nice smooth taste of that yeah I don’t taste much salt at all let me try the next one this is no size soy sauce no adding or straight or natural soy sauce no soy soy sauce that different Koji
I don’t know how to describe it there’s definitely a different taste I thought that was Mom but this one’s even got a little milder Edge to it soy sauce however Mommy and sweetness little sweeter yes not not so much that it it’s outstanding but that would be really nice on fish I’m sure
So Eureka barbecue yes after smoked soy sauce maybe you like it okay we’ll see that’s when you recommend for the barbecue here we go smoky definitely got that Smoky Edge to it you can taste the smoke in that it’s unbelievable it’s been sitting next to a campfire or
Something that is really good that I’d like to try with the barbecue well this has not only been very educational but uh pretty uh mind opening as far as the variety of tastes you can experience with the soya bean based soy sauce I mean this is completely beyond what I expected to try
Today and uh I’ll be back usuki City in Oita known for its pristine Spring Water usuki flourished as a shoyu producer thanks to ample soybean and wheat harvests It is even nicknamed the city of soy sauce whose oldest brewery 400 years to be exact is located here as well as two major producers There foreign A little bit sweeter than the ones we tried in Fukuoka and it does have that rich Savory depth to it foreign Foreign Foreign the Swift currents making their meat firm and fatty Um Is Yeah it goes so well together you don’t get any really fishy aftertaste at all when you use this local soy sauce I like the way the sweetness of this goes really well with the local fish with the Spritz of kobosu a citrus fruit that’s an Oita specialty you can enjoy a different taste
Is thank you hmm it also adds a new Edge to it a new kind of savory Edge that you don’t get when you don’t use it and I gotta say that really adds to the flavor for the goes deeper into the fish This is one of usuki’s major breweries massive amounts of unrefined shoyu can be matured efficiently in these tanks whatever but some of the show you here is produced the old way in a wooden barrel and not any old Cedar Barrel measuring nine meters in both height and diameter it is the world’s largest
Thank you Um foreign The slower temperature changes in larger vessels are believed to be behind the deeper flavors The mixture is stirred to send oxygen into the yeast and reduce gas the scale that they’re doing the work here is amazing this process since they started stirring it this pungent Aromas coming out um I’ll show you this is yeah I gotta say there’s a little bit of a
Sweeter Edge than what I’ve tried up till now and a little more refined as well too much dry the stainless slightly slightly saltier taste yeah I gotta say I like the one from the from the wood because uh it’s kind of like a little sweeter Edge that I I prefer they’re both great
Um but if I had to choose one I’d go with the uh yellow cedar Um well here we are in the southern tip of the island of Kyushu in kagoshima in the background is sakurajima an active volcano It’s Not Unusual for it to erupt and spew Ash all over the city they say that kagoshima’s soy sauce has its own unique taste and quality let’s
Go check it out foreign This popular Brewery founded around 100 years ago producers show you typical of kagushima Cinema [Applause] so this is Wow that’s a lot of sugar they do like their stuff sweet down this way Foreign yeah it’s got a real full body taste like you can taste it a bit of salt the Sugar’s not sugary taste is not overpowering it’s a real nice balance foreign is the local sweet potato its flavor is bold earthy and dry here’s the moment I’ve been waiting for local show shoot The local soy sauce together on some local fish Tunica and kagoshima is fattier than oitis so it’s paired with a sweeter more viscous show you I really appreciate how that works together the dry local Soju taste with a slightly sweeter soya the winning combination the brewery that Doug just visited rents
A shop here Wow what an attractive shop we have here all kinds of different soy sauce other sauces as well oh it’s kind of like a cafe over this way I’m gonna have to try their Specialties see what they’ve got see myself The glaze is made from the sweet shoyu of kagoshima enhanced with extra sugar thank you it gives off a really nice savior Aroma that uh experienced up until now All right here we go a big taste test again don’t want to burn my tongue Um It just can taste that sweet soy sauce coming out directly to your taste buds and it’s followed by this nice Aroma that you get with it this is one nice treat The brewery also promotes their products and by extension kagoshima Specialties from their food truck s Unfortunately well here we are at the end of our great soy sauce journey through Kyushu it’s been an eye-opening experience for me to say the least not only have I learned about the processes involved in the production of the sauces such as the sourcing of the materials and the culmination of
Literally ancient equipment with Cutting Edge technology but I’ve also developed a deep respect for the hard work and commitment The Producers have put in for generations to create the ideal sauces and blends to suit and match the local Specialties and Delicacies this journey leaves me with a better
Appreciation of how important a role the Umami or savory Taste of soy sauce plays and the creation of Delicious Japanese Cuisine thank you it’s 90 minutes by plane from Tokyo to Fukuoka to carry on to Oita or kagoshima board some of the lovely local trains