Soybeans
Soybeans are the mature dry seeds of Glycine max, about 40 percent protein and 20 percent oil, the substrate of tempeh, natto, miso, soy sauce and many other fermented foods.
Traditional method
Soy sauce
醤油 (shōyu) · Shoyu · Shōyu · Koikuchi shoyu · Tamari
Soy sauce is a salted liquid seasoning made by growing koji mould on soybeans and grain, maturing the mash in brine and pressing out the liquid. Japan's shoyu is the best-documented form.
An old seasoning
Soy sauce belongs to a family of salted seasonings that Japan has made for centuries. The earliest written record that the sources here use is the Taihō Code of 701 CE, which includes provisions for hishio, an early salted seasoning. That record shows an early seasoning tradition. It does not show that every style of soy sauce known today already existed in 701.
Shoyu, the Japanese name for soy sauce, is the form most readers meet. Its modern production differs from that of miso, which keeps its paste, and from tamari, which is closely related to the liquid that comes from miso-paste production.
Sources for this section
How shoyu is made
The grains and beans are steamed. Koji mould is grown on them, and the koji supplies the enzymes for the rest of the process. Koji and salt water are then added to the steamed grain. The mixture is fermented and aged, and the liquid is separated from the solids by pressing.
The enzymes come from the mould grown on the grain. The mash is left to mature for a long period. For koikuchi, the most common style, the source gives about eight months of fermentation and ageing.
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Koikuchi and tamari
Koikuchi uses equal amounts of soybeans and wheat for its koji. Tamari uses soybeans and only a small amount of wheat. In tamari the soybeans are crushed and made into miso-koji balls, which ferment with a small amount of salt water. Tamari ages for longer than koikuchi, and the sources give no duration for that ageing.
Tamari is, by the account of the same ministry, the soy sauce is the soy sauce closest to the old soy-based seasonings of Japan.
Sources for this section
Where soy sauce sits among fermented pastes
Soy sauce and miso come from the same broad family of soybean and koji ferments. Miso is cooked soybeans, salt and koji that mature while the paste is kept. Soy sauce is the liquid that the same kind of process produces when it is pressed out. The two products therefore split one fermented mass into a liquid and a paste, as fish sauce and fish paste do.
That comparison is about the process, not a claim of descent. The sources here do not show that one tradition gave rise to the other.
Sources for this section
Notes
The sources do not give the mash ratio, the salt concentration, the pressing method or the koji-ball dimensions for tamari. They do not give a yield. The pages of this record do not supply these figures.
Sources for this section
History
Hishio is recorded in the Taihō Code of 701 CE. The modern processes of shoyu, miso and tamari differ in their raw materials and in whether the paste is kept. Shoyu production in its modern form is documented in later and modern sources, not the Taihō Code.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
SoybeansSteamed. For koikuchi, the koji uses equal amounts of soybeans and wheat.
Amount not stated
Equal amounts of soybeans and wheat in the koikuchi koji. No other proportion is given.WheatUsed with the soybeans in koikuchi, and in small amounts in tamari.
Amount not stated
Equal to the soybeans in koikuchi koji.Koji mouldGrown on the steamed grain to make the koji that supplies the enzymes.
Amount not stated
No quantity given in the source.SaltDissolved in water and added to the koji to make the mash.
Amount not stated
No salt concentration is given in the source.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Wheat in the grain
Soy sauce made with wheat contains gluten. The tamari description says it uses only a small share of wheat, and the sources do not establish that commercial tamari is wheat-free.
Hazard sourceTamari is not wheat-free by the sources. Check the label before serving it to someone who must avoid gluten.
Salt content is high. The sources give no salt figure, so this page supplies none.
- Steam the soybeans and the grain. Koikuchi uses equal amounts of soybeans and wheat for the koji.
- Grow koji mould on the steamed grain. The koji supplies the enzymes for the rest of the process.
- Add salt water to the koji to make the mash. The mash is then fermented and aged.
- Ferment and age the mash. For koikuchi the source gives about eight months.
- Press the mash to obtain the liquid. The pressing is described only in general terms.
Places
Japan
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries describes the categories of soy sauce and the production method. The record names the country, not a place of origin.
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Made from
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Variants
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Sources
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)Method · History · Safety
Soy sauce and miso: categories and productionSoy sauce production: soybean, rice, barley and other grains are used; koji and salt water are added to the steamed grains; the mixture is fermented and aged.
Koikuchi koji uses equal amounts of soybeans and wheat; fermentation and ageing take about 8 months.
Tamari uses soybeans and a small amount of wheat; soybeans are crushed into miso-koji balls; the balls ferment with a small amount of salt water; tamari ages longer than koikuchi.
Tamari is one of the five categories of soy sauce.
Cited in: An old seasoning; How shoyu is made; Koikuchi and tamari; Where soy sauce sits among fermented pastes; Notes