Food & Drink
Miso and Soy Sauce
味噌・醤油みそ・しょうゆmiso, shōyuSoybeans, salt, kōji and patience
Miso is a fermented paste and shōyu (soy sauce) a fermented liquid seasoning, both made from soybeans, salt and kōji mould, with grain added to most kinds. Together with dashi they give Japanese cooking its characteristic savoury, umami-rich taste.
Miso and soy sauce descend from fermented soybean and grain pastes that reached Japan from China, probably in the seventh or eighth century. Over time Japanese producers developed their own methods. According to a well-known tradition, the monk Kakushin brought a method for making a miso from China to Yuasa in Kii Province (now Wakayama Prefecture) in the thirteenth century, and the liquid that collected in the vats became the ancestor of Japanese soy sauce.
Both seasonings depend on kōji, steamed grain or soybeans cultivated with Aspergillus mould, whose enzymes break down protein and starch into amino acids and sugars. This produces the glutamates that give miso and shōyu their deep savoury taste. In most kitchens they are used every day: miso for soup, dressings and marinades, soy sauce for seasoning, dipping and simmering.
How miso is made
Cooked soybeans are mashed and mixed with salt and kōji, then packed into vats to ferment and mature for anywhere from a few weeks to several years. The kōji grain determines the main type: rice kōji for rice miso, barley kōji for barley miso, and soybean kōji for soybean miso. More kōji and less salt give a sweeter, paler miso; long maturing produces darker, stronger miso.
Miso is loosely divided by colour into white (shiro), light (tanshoku) and red (aka), and by taste into sweet and salty. Most households keep one or two kinds and blend them (awase miso).
Kome miso
米味噌kome misoRice miso, the most common kind across Japan, from sweet and pale to dark and salty.
- 信州味噌Shinshū miso
Light, fairly salty rice miso from Nagano, the country's largest miso-producing prefecture.
- 西京味噌Saikyō miso
Very sweet, pale Kyoto miso with a high proportion of rice kōji; used for Kyoto-style soups and saikyōyaki (miso-marinated grilled fish).
- 豆味噌mame miso
Dark soybean miso of the Tōkai region, aged for a long time; Hatchō miso from Okazaki is the best-known example.
Mugi miso
麦味噌mugi misoBarley miso, mild and slightly sweet, typical of Kyushu, Shikoku and western Honshu.
How soy sauce is made
For the most common style, steamed soybeans and roasted, crushed wheat are inoculated with kōji mould. The kōji is mixed with brine to form a mash (moromi), which ferments and matures for months, traditionally in large cedar vats. The mash is then pressed, and the raw soy sauce is heated to stop fermentation and develop colour and aroma.
Japanese Agricultural Standards divide soy sauce into five types. Koikuchi (dark) soy sauce accounts for the great majority of production. Traditionally brewed soy sauce (honjōzō) is distinguished from cheaper blends made with hydrolysed protein.
- 濃口醤油koikuchi shōyu
The standard, all-purpose dark soy sauce, developed in the Kantō region; Noda and Chōshi in Chiba became its great production centres in the Edo period.
- 淡口醤油usukuchi shōyu
Light-coloured but saltier soy sauce used in Kansai cooking to season without darkening food; associated with Tatsuno in Hyogo.
- たまり醤油tamari shōyu
Thick, dark soy sauce made mostly from soybeans with little or no wheat, typical of the Tōkai region; used for sashimi and glazes.
- 再仕込み醤油saishikomi shōyu
'Twice-brewed' soy sauce, in which soy sauce replaces brine; rich and dark, a speciality of Yanai in Yamaguchi.
Shiro
白醤油shiro shōyuVery pale soy sauce made mainly from wheat, used where colour must be kept light.
In the kitchen
Miso soup (misoshiru), made by dissolving miso in dashi with tofu, seaweed or vegetables, is eaten daily in many households. Miso should be added at the end and not boiled hard, which dulls its aroma. It is also used for dressings (aemono), marinades for fish and meat, glazes such as dengaku on grilled tofu and aubergine, and in regional hot pots.
Soy sauce seasons simmered dishes (nimono) together with mirin, sake and sugar, and is the base of many sauces: tsuyu for noodles and tempura, teriyaki glaze, ponzu with citrus juice, and the tare of yakitori and unagi. At the table it is used sparingly for dipping sushi, sashimi and tofu.
- 味噌汁misoshiru
Miso soup, the everyday soup of the Japanese meal.
Dengaku
田楽dengakuTofu, konnyaku or aubergine grilled with a sweet miso glaze.
Ponzu
ポン酢ponzuCitrus juice and soy sauce, used as a dip for hot pots and grilled fish.
- めんつゆmentsuyu
A sauce of dashi, soy sauce and mirin for soba, udon and tempura.
Regions and heritage
Miso is regional in a way soy sauce is not. People often describe the country as a patchwork of miso zones: sweet white miso in Kyoto, light rice miso in the east and north, dark soybean miso around Nagoya, and barley miso in the south-west. Nagoya cuisine is built around its dark miso, as in miso katsu and miso nikomi udon.
Soy sauce production became concentrated in a few large centres from the Edo period, when Noda and Chōshi supplied the capital by river. Many small brewers still make soy sauce in wooden vats, and some towns, such as Yuasa, preserve old brewery districts.
Timeline
8th century
Fermented pastes called hishio and misho appear in records of the Nara court.
13th century
According to tradition, the monk Kakushin brings a miso method from China to Yuasa in Kii Province, where soy sauce making develops.
Muromachi period
Miso soup becomes an everyday dish, and miso is carried as a portable food by warriors.
Edo period
Noda and Chōshi grow into major soy sauce centres supplying Edo; koikuchi becomes the standard in eastern Japan.
2024
UNESCO inscribes traditional kōji-based brewing in Japan; the knowledge of cultivating kōji also underlies miso and soy sauce making.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between miso and soy sauce?
Both are fermented from soybeans, salt and kōji. Miso is the thick paste, eaten in soups and used in cooking; soy sauce is a liquid pressed from a fermented mash, used as a seasoning and dip.
Is Japanese soy sauce gluten-free?
Most Japanese soy sauce contains wheat. Tamari is made with little or no wheat, but only products labelled as wheat-free can be relied on.
Which miso should a beginner buy?
A light-coloured rice miso (often labelled shinshū or awase) is the most versatile for soup and cooking. Sweet white miso and dark soybean miso have more specific uses.
Why should miso soup not be boiled?
Boiling drives off miso's aroma and can make the soup taste flat. Cooks dissolve the miso at the end and remove the pot from the heat just before it boils.
Related
Sources
- 1.しょうゆ情報センター (opens in a new tab) — 日本醤油協会 (Japan Soy Sauce Association)
- 2.全国味噌工業協同組合連合会 (opens in a new tab) — 全国味噌工業協同組合連合会 (Japan Federation of Miso Manufacturers Cooperatives)
- 3.Japan – Intangible Cultural Heritage elements (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage