Inoue Honten Igeta Happo Dashi (井上本店 イゲタ 八方だし)

The story behind it

Inoue Honten in Kyobate, Nara, was founded in 1864. It works in a brick brewery and handles every step in house, from raw material to finished product. The maker holds to long tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control) and has kept to a method that does not hurry the microbes in the brewery.

Happo Dashi is built on the house usukuchi (lighter in color, higher in salt) shoyu, combined with dashi flavor. As the name happo, meaning all directions, suggests, the balance is set so you can take it in any direction: simmered dishes, blanched greens, rolled dashi omelet.

Unlike a koikuchi-based noodle sauce, the usukuchi base means the ingredients do not go muddy when you simmer them. Dashi, shoyu and a mild sweetness are held in balance, so one bottle settles the seasoning.