Nihon Chomiryo Tabi
Start with these 37 seasonings from Kumamoto in total
Kumamoto's akazake is an akumochi-zake, a sake finished by stirring wood ash into the moromi (the fermenting mash). Pushing the liquid toward alkaline stops it from spoiling. It is a way of preserving sake that has nothing to do with pasteurization.
Under the old domain it settled in as the sake drunk at New Year, and some households still use it for toso. It also happens to be an excellent cooking liquid: use it in place of mirin and dishes take on a gloss, and ingredients stay tender. A local drink that stayed on as a seasoning.
- Akumochi-zake, given its keeping quality by wood ash
- A New Year drink that is also the cooking sake that brings out gloss
Where Kumamoto's sweetness comes from
Kumamoto seasonings run sweet across the board. Put its shoyu (soy sauce) or miso next to the Kanto equivalent and the sweetness is unmistakable. Kyushu is warm, sweet seasoning has long been the preference here, and the seasonings simply reflect that.
What sets Kumamoto apart within that is akazake. It is brewed almost exactly like sake, and the difference comes at the end, when wood ash is added. The ash is alkaline and neutralizes the acid in the sake, and in the process amino acids and sugars react and turn the liquid a reddish brown. Used in cooking, it gives gloss and depth and leaves ingredients soft. Kumamoto households still reach for akazake instead of mirin.
Akazake and toso
Akazake belongs to a category called akumochi-zake. Because the wood ash improves how long it keeps, it was a sensible way to brew in an age with no refrigeration.
In Kumamoto, akazake has long been poured as New Year toso and as offering sake. Households still drink it at the start of the year, so it is both a seasoning and a drink tied to the calendar. What is sold for cooking is this same akazake, adjusted for use in the kitchen.
Local dishes and their seasonings
- Karashi Renkon (からし蓮根)
- Lotus root with its holes packed with mustard miso, battered and fried. Pairing Kumamoto's sweeter miso with sharp mustard shows exactly how flavor gets built here.
- Taipien (太平燕)
- A Kumamoto noodle dish of glass noodles in soup with vegetables and seafood. It is seasoned lightly with shoyu or salt, which makes it a counterpoint in a region full of sweet dishes.
Makers in Kumamoto
- ZuiyoFounded in 1867
A brewery making akazake in Kawashiri, Kumamoto. It also brews sake, and its Toi Akazake is widely used as a cooking sake across the prefecture. - FundodaiFounded in 1869
A long-established Kumamoto shoyu maker. It also releases products that step outside the usual bounds of shoyu, including a colorless, clear shoyu. - HoshisanFounded in 1906
A maker in Tatsuda, Kumamoto City. It works across shoyu, miso and ponzu, with the sweet Kyushu style as its center of gravity. - Yamauchi HontenFounded in 1751
A miso brewery in Tamana. It specializes in blended miso made from both rice and barley, and is known for its Maboroshi no Miso. - Matsuai ShokuhinFounded in 1827
A shoyu brewery in Matsuai, Uki City. It continues to make whole-soybean shoyu by tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control).
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