Fermented & preserved
Fermented seasonings
発酵調味料
20 varieties
Fermented seasonings are made by letting koji and other microbes work on soybeans, rice, or wheat, with soy sauce and miso at the center of the category. Soy sauce ranges from everyday koikuchi, made of soybean and wheat in roughly equal parts, to paler usukuchi, thick tamari, and twice-brewed saishikomi, each shaped by its process; miso likewise varies in color and saltiness by grain and region, from rice miso to barley miso to soybean-only miso. Usukuchi is said to suit dishes where the ingredient's color should show, tamari to go with sashimi. This section follows the brands within each family.
Dishes tied to a place14
- Choshi shoyu銚子醤油Chiba Choshisoy sauce brewed where the Kuroshio meets the Tone River
- Echigo miso越後味噌Niigata NagaokaNiigata's floating-koji red miso
- Edo amai miso江戸甘味噌Tokyo ChuoTokyo's short-aged, deep-brown sweet miso
- Gozen miso御膳味噌Tokushima City, Tokushimathe miso once reserved for Tokushima's lord
- Hatcho miso八丁味噌Aichi OkazakiOkazaki's deep-black, two-year soybean miso
- Saikyo miso西京味噌Kyoto City, KyotoKyoto's low-salt, sweet white miso for court cuisine
- Saishikomi shoyu再仕込醤油Yamaguchi Yanaitwice-brewed 'kanro' soy sauce from Yanai
- Sendai miso仙台味噌Miyagi Sendaithe dark, long-aged miso Date Masamune stocked for war
- Shinshu miso信州味噌Nagano City, NaganoNagano's pale, tangy rice miso — half the nation's supply
- Shiro shoyu白醤油Aichi Hekinanthe amber-pale, wheat-forward soy sauce of Mikawa
- Shodoshima shoyu小豆島醤油Kagawa Shodoshima400 years of wooden-barrel brewing on Shodoshima
- Tamari shoyu溜醤油Aichi Handathe thick, nearly all-soybean soy sauce of the Tokai region
- Tsugaru miso津軽味噌Aomori HirosakiAomori's deep-red, long-aged cold-climate miso
- Usukuchi shoyu淡口醤油Hyogo Tatsunothe pale, aroma-forward soy sauce born in Tatsuno
No single place of origin6
- Koikuchi shoyuthe all-purpose soy sauce used in most Japanese kitchens
- Kome misorice-koji miso, the nationwide standard
- Kyushu amakuchi shoyuthe sugar-rounded sweet soy sauce of Kyushu
- Kyushu mugi misothe sweet, short-aged barley miso of Kyushu's table
- Mame misosoybean-only miso of the Tokai region
- Mugi misobarley-koji miso from Kyushu and the Inland Sea region
View all Fermented seasonings on the map
Before you go
- Words about taste and cookingBroth types, spice levels, and noodle firmness — words you're often asked to choose when ordering.
- What to know if you have dietary restrictionsHow allergen labeling works, where fish-based dashi, pork, and alcohol turn up, and phrases for checking with staff.
- How Japanese seasoning tends to tasteWhy Japanese food can taste mild to some visitors, the role dashi and umami play as a flavor base, what soy sauce, miso, mirin, and vinegar each contribute, what "spicy" usually means, and adjusting flavor at the table.