Soy Sauce
Shrimps, Wasabi and Soy sauce
Are you interested in Soy sauce which is also called Shoyu in Japan?
It might soon remind you of Sushi or Sashimi.
But it is not only for them.
It is used in various cooking, partly because of its marvellous characteristics.
Let’s learn about them.
1. with Sashimi
tuna sashimi with soy sauce
1) bacteria-killing action
Firstly, among many characteristics, we can never miss its bacteria-killing action.
It can sterilize bad bacteria by the action of salt, lactic acid, alcohol.
This is one of the reasons why we dip Sashimi or Sushi in a small dish containing Shoyu and Wasabi horseradish, or grated ginger.
Wasabi and grated ginger also cause strong bactericidal action.
In addition, we usually pickle salmon eggs called “Ikura” in soy sauce to keep their freshness.
Ikura salmon eggs in soy sauce
How to eat Sashimi with Wasabi
Wasabi roots
- Pour a moderate amount of soy sauce on the small plate.
Dip the Sashimi in it. Never pour directly on the Sashimi. - Put a moderate amount of Wasabi on the sashimi.
Don’t dissolve it in the plate to enjoy both flavors. - Pick up the small plate and hold it in your hand in order to avoid spilling the liquid.
It is considered poor manners to use your hand like a saucer.
(Although I myself sometimes behave like this.)
- Sashimi tastes better if you eat it from the light taste to the rich taste.
That is, in the order of white fish, shellfish, and lean fish.
Wasabi and Tsuna sashimi
2) Smell wrapping action
Secondly, it can eliminate the bad odor of fish or meat by wrapping them.
To tell the truth, this was the starting point of modern soy sauce (Koikuchi).
For this reason, it was invented in the 17th century in Edo where people consumed a quantity of fish every day.
2. with Senbei
3) Amino-carbonyl reaction
Thirdly, it can send a very appetising savour when heated with sugar.
This is called an “amino-carbonyl reaction”.
For example, Senbei (rice cracker or puffed rice biscuit) makes full use of this reaction.
In addition, the aroma caused by this reaction makes grilled rice balls (Yaki-onigiri) or roasted corn (Yaki-tomorokoishi) more appetising.
Senbei-rice-cracker
3. with Noodles
Finally, being liquid, it is convenient to make soup.
Japanese love noodles such as Udon, Soba, Ramen.
By using different types of soy sauce, we can easily make soups different in flavour, saltness or colour.
This fact makes noodles more accessible and more popular.
Udon, Soba, Ramen are all served both hot and cold.
In either case, we cannot miss the soy sauce.
For cold noodles, Dashi shoyu made by simmering and straining the ingredients such as kelp (kombu) or fish flakes is widely used.
