Soy sauce is an important part of the dining at Wild Wasabi, be it in the dish you dip your sushi in or in our teriyaki sauce. But how does this iconic condiment get from the soybeans it is made from to the table at our Japanese restaurant in Lynnwood? The brewing process is a long and interesting one:
- A batch of soybeans is steamed and mixed with roasted wheat.
- The next step is to cultivate the growth of a fungus known as koji mold This breaks down the protein of the beans and the carbohydrates of the wheat into a substance that the Japanese know as shoyu koji.
- After three days of cultivation, the shoyu koji is combined with salt and water to ferment and age for a period of a few months.
- After the fermentation, the shoyu koji transforms into a thick mash. This is pressed and strained through a filter to extract a fluid that is known as the “raw” soy sauce.
- The raw soy sauce is heated, so as to pasteurize the mixture and stabilizes the soy sauce so it can be bottled, shipped, and enjoyed in restaurants around the world!