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Japanese Traditional Soy Sauce - Shoyu We are offering the finest traditionally brewed shoyu and tamari aged in wooden cedar kegs for 18 months or more. These natural soy sauces employ the use of a centuries-old method of natural fermentation involving a special koji (Aspergillus oryzae), which converts hard-to-digest soy proteins, starches and fats into easily absorbed amino acids, simple sugars and fatty acids. The use of whole, premium ingredients and unhurried, natural aging in seasoned wooded casks give our soy sauce depth of character and health benefits that cannot be duplicated by accelerated, high temperature incubation in plastic, stainless steel, or fiberglass tanks. No extra alcohol is needed or added, unlike a popular "natural" soy sauce made in the U.S. which requires additional alcohol to stabilize their product.
Uses: Use this outstanding and versatile seasoning to enhance the flavor of almost any food, including vegetables, grains, soups, sauces, salads, and fish.
Cooking with Shoyu In any type of cooking style, traditional shoyu can enhance and deepen flavors. In general, when using shoyu to season foods, it should be added only during the last few minutes of cooking. Brief cooking mellows its flavor and enables it to blend with and heighten rather than dominate other flavors in the dish. In longer cooking, shoyu's complex, delicate taste and slightly alcoholic aroma is lost. When using shoyu to season soups or sauces, add just a little sea salt early in the cooking to deepen and blend the flavors of the ingredients, then add shoyu to taste shortly before serving. Shoyu is high in glutamic acid, a natural form of monosodium glutamate (MSG), which makes it an excellent flavor enhancer, great for marinating, pickling, and sautéing.
Avocado "Sashimi"
Serves 6
Sashimi (raw fish) is a popular Japanese appetizer. Avocado's buttery texture and mild flavor are similar to some varieties of sashimi. As with sashimi, a dip of shoyu and pungent wasabi (Japanese horseradish) provides the perfect complement to avocado.
This appetizer works best as the first course of a sit-down dinner. Its complex flavor awakens the taste buds and invites them into the meal.
1 small or medium-sized ripe (not overripe) avocado
lemon juice for coating avocado slices
2 tablespoons Mitoku Johsen Shoyu
1/4 cup spring water
1 1/2 teaspoons Mitoku Wasabi Powder
Halve avocado lengthwise, slicing through to the pit. Twist halves and pull apart. Remove the pit, then peel the avocado. Thinly slice avocado halves lengthwise. (Unless peeled and sliced just before serving, coat slices lightly with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.) Arrange 3 slices on small individual dishes (sushi plates are ideal). Combine shoyu and water. Divide mixture among individual dip or condiment containers (about 1 tablespoon per serving).
Add one drop of water at a time to wasabi, and mix until it forms a thick paste. Place a small mound of wasabi on each plate of avocado "sashimi" for guests to add to dip. (For eye-appeal, place wasabi on a very thin slice of red radish, or on a circle of overlapping radish slices.) Pick up avocado slices with chopsticks, dip in shoyu, and enjoy. | |
Scrambled Tofu Serves 4
This delicious and eye-appealing dish makes a great centerpiece of a Sunday brunch. If you are in a hurry, eliminate the corn, peppers, and green onions.
1 tbsp Mitoku Toasted or Virgin Sesame Oil
1 onion, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 ears cooked corn
2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 lb fresh tofu
1-1 1/2 tbsp shoyu (to taste)
chopped parsley for garnish
toasted black sesame seeds (optional)
Heat the oil in a cast iron or other heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and sauté 2 minutes.
With a sharp knife, cut the kernels from the corn cobs. Add the corn and green onions to the pan, and sauté 1 minute. With your hands, crumble the tofu into the pan, add shoyu to taste, and "scramble" tofu for 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and, if desired, black sesame seeds. Serve hot.
Baked Yellow Squash ("Squash Fish")
Serves 4
4 crookneck squash
Eden Extra Virgin Olive Oil for basting
about 2 teaspoons Mitoku Johsen Shoyu
Choose squash that are about the same size, so they will cook in the same amount of time. Preheat oven to 400° F. Wash squash and cut in half lengthwise. Make several slices in the "tail" and carefully make shallow diagonal slits in both directions about 1/2-inch apart (see photo). Lightly oil a baking pan and brush a little oil on each "squash fish". Bake for 45 minutes, then remove and brush a little shoyu on each piece. Return to the oven and bake 10 minutes more, or until soft. | |
Poached Shrimp with Lemon-Shoyu Dip
Serves 4
20 large or jumbo shrimp
2 cups kombu stock (see Kombu Recipes for this simple stock)
1/4 cup Mitoku Mikawa Mirin
3 tablespoons Mitoku Johsen Shoyu
2 tablespoons sake (or increase mirin to 1/3 cup)
Dip:
1 tablespoon Mitoku Johsen Shoyu
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon spring water
1 large or 2-3 small lettuce leaves per serving
Peel shrimp, leaving tails attached. Devein and rinse. Combine stock, mirin, shoyu, and sake in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add shrimp and simmer gently until just pink (2-3 minutes). Remove and drain. Combine the shoyu, lemon, and water. Arrange individual servings of shrimp on a bed of lettuce and serve with lemon-shoyu dip. | |
Zaru Udon
Serves 4
This simple noodle dish is a favorite Japanese lunch. The dip can be served hot or at room temperature, but for a cooling lift on a hot summer day, serve chilled.
2-3 Mitoku Dried Donko Shiitake caps
3 cups spring water
5-inch piece Mitoku Hidaka Wild Kombu
¼ teaspoon Ishigaki Washed Sea Salt
2-3 slices fresh ginger root
4 tablespoons Mitoku Johsen Shoyu
3 tablespoons Mitoku Mikawa Mirin
14 - 16 ounces Mitoku Sakurai Udon, cooked, rinsed, and drained
Condiments and Garnishes:
1/2 sheet nori, toasted, cut into 1-inch wide strips, and slivered
2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
finely grated daikon or ginger (optional)
Submerge the shiitake in the water for 30 minutes or longer, then quarter the mushrooms. Place mushrooms, soaking water, and kombu in a pot. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Simmer briefly, then remove kombu and reserve it for another use. Add the salt and ginger, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the shiitake and reserve for another use. Add shoyu and mirin and cook 1 minute more. Prepare the condiments and garnishes.
Traditionally this dish is served in attractive bamboo noodle baskets (zaru), but if you don't have these, divide the cooked noodles and put them in soup bowls or on plates. Garnish with a sprinkle of slivered nori. Pour dipping broth into separate small individual bowls. Set out green onions, daikon, ginger, and remaining slivered nori on the table so everyone can add them to the broth to their own taste.
Dip each bite of noodles in the broth. If broth becomes weak, replace it with fresh broth. | |
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