Japanese Shoyu Soy Sauce Essential Japanese Sauce and Food Culture

Perhaps the most essential sauce in Japan, Shoyu醤油 is the stable of Japanese food culture: food dipped in soy sauce, shoyu ramen, shoyu everything. It's a sauce made of fermented food and oil blend. The Japanese even dip dango or chewy mochi rice cake in Shoyu and make Shoyu flavored sake. It seems to make everything better. The sophisticated flavor is derived from aged soy beans, salt, wheat and yeast mixture. Because of the fermentation, the process doesn't smell nor look too good. Modern Shoyu also comes in many flavors and varieties, some saltier and some sweeter. A green cap or bottle packaging now denotes lower sodium level, which marks a healthier choice. But the entire Asia is consuming lots of soy sauce everyday, and they are not stopping any time soon. In fact, the rest of the world now also shares the love, thanks to the global popularity of sushi.

How to ask for Soy Sauce in Japanese? In fact, the Japanese don't consume too much soy sauce when eating sushi. The chef usually allocates the soy sauce carefully and pre apply to each piece of sushi. In fancy restaurants, it's especially impolite to ask for more soy sauce and then proceed to drench a piece of sushi in the sauce this overpowering the natural umami or fresh flavor of the fish. If you must, ask politely sorry, please give me some soy sauce and wasabi. sumi masen shoyu to wasabi o kudasai. すみません醤油とわさびをください. If they decline vehemently, consider skipping those all together. It's really impolite to insist. It may be sad but you may want to consider another restaurant if you prefer American style sushi, which is hard to come by outside those tourist foreigner friendly hotels. Many expats in Japan have learned to appreciate the Japanese style sushi as shown in Jiro Dreamed of Sushi and other Michelin starred restaurants. It's hard to find California rolls and philly rolls in Japan. Lol, if you find dynamite rolls you are quite impressive!

misunderstanding Shoyu, Sakura Shoyu, smoked Shoyu souvenirs or omiyage from Kyoto