Nihon Chomiryo Tabi
Shimousa Shoyu (下総醤油)
The story behind it
Chiba is shoyu country. Choshi and Noda were the great production centers that fed Edo, and in their shadow, in Katori, stands a brewery that has run since 1854.
Chiba Shoyu's Shimousa Shoyu is brewed by tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control) in the same kioke (wooden barrel) vessels used since the founding. Over the long years, kuratsuki yeast (the brewery's own resident yeast) has settled into those barrels and now builds an aroma and savoriness that no other brewery can reproduce. The ingredients are only whole Japanese soybeans, Japanese wheat, and salt.
Its nitrogen content, the marker of savoriness, runs 10% above the top grade standard, and it has twice won a Superior Taste Award from the International Taste Institute. This is a direct heir to the shoyu culture of the Kanto region as it has stood since Edo.
How to use it
Versatile enough for dipping, pouring, and simmering alike. Use it in dashimaki tamago or grilled rice balls and the aroma particular to kioke shoyu rises off the plate.