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Kyushu is the source of several sorts of soy sauce in varying stages of sweet and salty as well as one that’s transparent!
Wow take a look at this view it’s incredible isn’t it we’re here in Nagasaki kushu the reason why we’re here in Nagasaki is because we’re going to try the different kushu soy sauces soy sauce in kushu is sweeter than other parts of Japan and each region has its
Own unique variation and as we head from here down south we’re going to try those different variations and I know I’m definitely going to enjoy it so sauce or showyou is one of the essential seasonings that underpin Japanese Cuisine it’s made from soybeans and roasted wheat inoculated with a Koji mold
Starter salt and water are added and the mixture is then left to ferment after being aged for a time this thick slurry is pressed to extract the rich dark liquid in kushu Southwestern Japan very types of showyou have been developed for complimenting different dishes from one
Region to the next each sauce has its own tradition and use Colleen is a radio DJ from the US who’s lived in Fukuoka for 18 years on this edition of Journeys in Japan she visits various areas of kushu to sample the local sauces she gets to see for herself the way they’re made
There’s kind of like mold and discovers their distinctive flavors and Traditions colen’s Journey starts in Nagasaki City about a th000 km west of Tokyo from there she continues to Kumamoto City and then to the town of otu in Miyazaki prefecture before Japan opened to the world in the mid 19th century Nagasaki was the only point of contact for
Traders from Europe to this day it still has an exotic feel to It several hundred years ago when foreigners came to Japan it was this island that they stayed on and apparently there’s something to do with soy sauce there’s soy sauce related items here which is why we’re here right now and I’m going to learn a little bit about it today
Hey this open air museum recreates what the island of dejima looked like this was where the merchants from Portugal and the Netherlands were required to stay oh one major export from Japan in those days was copper it was shied around the world for use in making coins and other Products There’s another display that catches Colleen’s Eye for Japanese soya even centuries ago Japanese showu was highly prized in Europe for its rich flavor as a seasoning this Recreation of a Trader’s Warehouse shows some of the merchandise that was imported in those days dejima was said to be so full of sugar it was known as The Sugar Island Thanks to this abundance of sugar a wide range of sweet Confections came to be developed in Kushu it makes sense N hiado is Nagasaki prefecture’s main production Center for soy sauce Colleen visits a local store to see what kind of sauces are made in the city oh so I want you to take a look at this if you look here we’ve got soy sauce from this area but it goes all the way
From here to here and there’s so many different kinds of soy sauces but they’re all also from like different companies not just one maker nearly 40 types of sauce are produced in h AO people here use different varieties depending on what kind of dish they’re eating
In recent years a new type of sauce has been developed in Nagasaki instead of soybeans it’s made from another Ingredient for the past 20 years this company has also been producing a sauce similar to show you but not made from soybeans for fish oh Nagata masatoshi company started out producing packets of dried fish for making dashy soup stock but these bags are usually thrown away without using
All of the nutrition it occurred to him that he could use the same powdered fish to make a nutritious Sauce His aim is to imbue the sauce with the full goodness of the whole fit that was his reason for starting to make his show You Super Fresh show you do dis so it’s not sweet it’s actually it tastes kind of like what I had growing up saltier but like I don’t add it explain it there’s a really it’s a good like punch in the mouth um it’s really good um yeah I don’t know quite how to
Explain it though but it’s not fishy at all um you don’t taste the fish just Delicious Nagata hopes this new type of show you will bring people good Health The city of Kumamoto developed as a prosperous Castle town it’s also known for its abundant groundwater enough to supply 100% of its water Requirements huh and I guess it’s because Kumamoto has such delicious and clean water that they’re able to make really delicious soy sauce and uh that’s what I’m going to go try here in Kumamoto Colleen’s next stop is a local soy sauce Producer this company has been in business for a century and a half in terms of output it’s the largest show you producer in the prefecture oh my gosh wow wow there’s so many tanks oh my gosh oh it’s really deep the soy sauce here is prepared using the mineral Rich
Groundwater it’s left to ferment for 6 months yeah I don’t know I mean it’s it’s kind of it’s a little bit dirty it looks like oh okay old Timbers from the previous dismantled Warehouse were brought into the new facility and the microorganisms were allowed to propagate after 2 years
The soy sauce made there was back up to its previous Standard when the fermentation is finished the sauce is extracted here although the equipment is modern the way the show you is pressed follows the same procedure as in the old days it’s spread out on a cloth and then covered with another Layer this step is repeated until dozens of layers are stacked up on top of each other and the liquid seeps out slowly and Naturally wow there’s everything in here while continuing its traditional production methods this company is also developing new Sauces soy sauce oh a soy sauce it’s tasty I like this one it’s a little bit Maraka a little bit kind of round taste that’s amazing yeah the practice of eating basashi or Sashimi horse meat dates back to the days of the Samurai once during a time
Of famine the local warlord was serve this dish and was amazed how good it tasted these days it’s become a Kumamoto Delicacy just a little Bit um it’s got a lot of the fat you can see the marbling in it but it’s not heavy at all the soy sauce is just a little bit sweet and so it kind of gives it a refreshing smooth flavor and it really the the fat just melts in your mouth
With that sweet soy sauce and it just kind of goes on your tongue and it’s just it’s so delicious here the horse meat has been prepared as sushi M i see call last dish is seafood Sashimi the fish here is all caught in the waters of Kumamoto I’m going to go for the squid first and look at that like it’s just so beautifully cut There Um so I’ve really enjoyed my uh education today and it was a delicious education so we’re here in ootu and it’s quite a cute little station that we’ve got here and a very local place really different from the other places I’ve been to but apparently they do a lot of
Soy sauce Brewing here so that’s what we’re here for so we’re going to check it Out the town of ootu sits on a narrow spit of land between the sea and a river it’s gained a reputation as a soy sauce producing Town it has three show you breweries even though it has a population of only about 1,400 Colleen visits a local store to find out what kind of soy sauce is produced Here need to uh o we’ve got the the katsuo that’s Bonito and it’s right here and looks really Delicious it just has me Colleen has bought some fresh Bonito fish now she’s heading for a local show you producer It looks like we’ve got a soy sauce Brewery here so I think I’m going to go and uh take a peek inside this company has been in business for 220 years it’s the oldest of the three show you breweries in ootu oh yeah we have lots of soy sauce already
Miata Kenya is the eighth generation owner of this family Brewery he has a Workforce of six to help him with production Old otu has long been a hub for shipping soybeans and wheat were readily available along with the local salt everything was in place for producing show you Fishermen like to eat the fish they catch while they’re still out on their boats because shoyu is easy to carry and brings out the Umami of the fish that makes it the perfect seasoning [Laughter] spe okay M I’ve just eaten it so sometimes a Bonito can be a little bit fishy um and
Like you said I’ve just dipped it in and like really dipped it so I was a little bit worried it would be um too salty but it’s not salty at all it’s um kind of sweet and it really compliments the fish and it wasn’t even a fishy kind of taste which was really
Nice ah uh these are the factors underlying old Do’s history as a center for show you production however in recent years this proud tradition has been declining some 15 years ago there were five showyou breweries in ootu now there are just three for a Time Miata left his hometown
To find work but he came home 5 years ago to take over the family business he didn’t want ootu to lose any more of its long Lineage ootu has a long history as a center for show you production as long as there are people who value this and want to preserve it that tradition will live on So we’ve been on this trip to discover the different variations in soy sauce in different regions of kushu and I’ve had a chance to taste those different variations but what I noticed even more was the tradition the determination and the creativity and the variations in that within the different makers that we
Met on this trip and I want to invite you to come and experience those variations for yourself not only the flavors but also among the People to reach Nagasaki flights from Tokyo Take 2 hours from there you can take a ferry or train to travel to Kumamoto and Miyazaki