What is Shoyu no Mi (醤油の実: Fruit of Soy Sauce)?

As you may know, we Japanese generally call soy sauce Shoyu (しょうゆ/醤油), and Mi (実) is the word for “fruit” in English, but have you ever heard of Shoyu no Mi (醤油の実), literally, the fruit of soy sauce?

Shoyu no Mi (醤油の実)

Even if you love Japanese food, I can bet many will not be able to answer what it is, for Shoyu no Mi (a.k.a. Shoyu Mame/醤油豆) is a local food only eaten in some prefectures such as Nagano, Niigata, Yamagata, and Kagoshima.

It is a specialty of where I live, but it is hard to find the food even here. By the way, I got this in the market of a roadside station or 道の駅, and in the past, I have seen one supermarket in my city selling it.

What is Shoyu no Mi?

Shoyu no Mi is a soy sauce seasoning, and “実” or “fruit” in its name stands for Moromi/もろみ. もろみ consists of soft paste-like fermented ingredients seen in the brewing process of Sake, Miso, or Shoyu, and 醤油の実 is soy sauce Moromi.

The soy sauce seasoning has many variations, and its taste (sweet or salty) mainly depends on the amount of koji. The one pictured above looks like a Miso paste and tastes like a sweet Miso (though the texture differs from Miso).

Usage

As seen in the photo, we like to eat Shoyu no Mi on a warm bowl of white rice and sometimes make Ochazuke with it.

Not only rice but the soy sauce Moromi also goes well with Natto, and we also use it as a dip for fresh vegetable sticks. The seasoning is versatile and multi-purpose, and its taste is very Japanese, and I can confidently recommend it!

Ingredients/Nutrition Facts

Lastly, for your information, here are the specific ingredients and nutrition facts of this Shoyu no Mi seasoning.

Nutritional Values

(Reference Page: Wikipedia 醤油の実 )