SeasonedSoyConcentrate WASHOKU

Seasoned Soy Concentrate
Banno-joyu
万能醤油
dried kelp, mushrooms, fish + sake, soy sauce, sugar = soy concentrate
Make a generous batch of this seasoned soy concentrate, transferring it into a tightly
lidded glass jar for long term storage in your refrigerator. Be sure to use a clean spoon
each time you take some from the jar to keep unwanted bacteria from entering the
concentrate. Practicing proper kitchen hygiene, the concentrate will stay fresh for 6 to 8
weeks.
Each of the ingredients used in making this concentrate is packed with umami (naturally
occurring glutamates). Unlike chemicals such as MSG, typically used in commercial
“instant” stocks or flavor-enhancing products, the glutamates found naturally in kelp,
dried mushrooms, fermented soy, and dried fish do not cause unpleasant side effects.
Here is what each component contributes to the final sauce:
KOMBU 昆布 (kelp) is a general flavor-enhancer with slightly briny overtones.
If you can source a high-glutamate variety such as Rausu, Rishi, or ma kombu (pictured
below) you will achieve greater intensity of flavor.
HOSHI SHIITAKE 干 し 椎 茸
(dried black mushrooms) add woodsy,
earthy overtones. If you can source donko (pictured below), a thick-fleshed variety with
ADAPTED from WASHOKU: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2005)
© Copyright, 2010. All rights reserved by Elizabeth Andoh.
deeply creviced caps, you will achieve greater intensity of flavor. Break off the stems and
use with broken bits of caps for this and other stock making; save whole caps to cook
separately.
IRIKO いりこ・ NIBOSHI 煮干し
(dried sardines) have a slightly
funky smell but add powerful “meatiness” to the sauce, with slight bitterness to
counteract the sweetness of sugar and/or mirin used with it. To keep bitterness at a
minimum, remove heads and dried, crumbly, black innards (in small dish on right in
photo on the right).
ATSU KEZURI KATSUO 厚削り鰹 (thick chunks of dried bonito) add
distinctly smoky overtones – I sometimes refer to this as “bacon slabs from the sea.”
The soy-drenched bits of kelp, mushroom, and dried fish that are strained out of the
finished liquid concentrate can be made into a flavorful broth for noodles. Return them to
the saucepan, adding several cups of cold water, and bring it rapidly to a boil. Strain
immediately, this time discarding the solid pieces. Save the strained dark broth for up to
3 days, covered in the refrigerator (it does not freeze well). Use it, undiluted, as a soup
broth either re-heated, or chilled.
ADAPTED from WASHOKU: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2005)
© Copyright, 2010. All rights reserved by Elizabeth Andoh.