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Sauces and condiments from Hita, Ōita, Japan

Ayu gyoshō (sweetfish fish sauce)鮎魚醤

Ayu gyoshō is a modern fish sauce made from ayu (sweetfish), a freshwater fish, by the soy sauce brewery Maruhara in Hita. In the Ōita Prefecture patent, whole minced ayu is mixed with salt, optionally given a protease, broken down at room temperature up to 60 °C, strained, filtered and heated to 85 °C. The patent says freshwater fish give a sauce with almost none of the usual fishy smell.

DocumentedSauces and condiments24 h

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceProportions are from the first example in the Ōita patent (85 parts minced fish to 15 parts salt by weight). Roughly 500–700 g of sauce came from about 1 kg of raw material.
Ayu, whole (head, body and guts), minced85 partsWashed first to remove the surface slime[jp3598093]
Salt15 parts[jp3598093]
Protease enzyme (optional)The patent tried four enzymes, one for acid, one for neutral and one for alkaline conditions, and a mix of equal amounts of the three; any protease can be used[jp3598093]
Starteroptional added protease enzyme

Total time across the recorded steps: 24 h

Start
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What changes: Whole sweetfish are washed and ground to a mince

Step 1 of 5
Wash and mince whole ayu
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
mince of head, body and guts
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Ayu gyoshō is a modern fish sauce made from ayu (sweetfish), a freshwater fish, by the soy sauce brewery Maruhara in Hita. In the Ōita Prefecture patent, whole minced ayu is mixed with salt, optionally given a protease, broken down at room temperature up to 60 °C, strained, filtered and heated to 85 °C. The patent says freshwater fish give a sauce with almost none of the usual fishy smell. Made in 5 steps over 24 h. The longest step, strain and filter, takes 24 h (Japan patent JP3598093B2 2001). Salt is 15 % (Japan patent JP3598093B2 2001).

Key numbers
Main step24 hReported[jp3598093]Strain and filter
Temperatureup to 60 °CReported[jp3598093]Hold warm and break down
Salt15 %Reported[jp3598093]Mix with salt and add the enzyme

What makes this one different

Sauces from sea fish carry a fishy or fermented smell. In the patent's tests, ayu gyoshō and carp sauce had a low ammonia-to-total-nitrogen ratio and none of the smelly propionic, butyric or isovaleric acids found in the sea-fish sauces, including Vietnamese nuoc mam, Thai nam pla and Akita shottsuru. The patent credits the freshwater fish, not the added enzyme.

Related ferments

Safety

The patent says the salt must be mixed in evenly, because low-salt pockets let spoilage bacteria grow and can spoil the whole batch. The sauce is heated to 85 °C for 15 minutes after straining.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Ōita Prefecture filed a patent on a fish sauce from freshwater fish on 28 December 2001 and it was granted on 8 December 2004. A 2016 programme says local fish farmers asked the president of the soy sauce brewery Maruhara, Masayuki Hara, how to use their irregular catches of ayu, and after research with the prefecture and 4 years of trial and error the sauce was made. It reached Tokyo restaurants and a contract with a French restaurant.

  1. [jp3598093] Japan patent JP3598093B2, 魚醤油 (fish sauce), inventors Hara M. (原正幸) and Yamamoto N. (山本展久), applicant Ōita Prefecture; filed 28 December 2001, granted 8 December 2004 (Google Patents record)spec
  2. [jib2016] Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIB), Japan Food Quest Kyushu, "Ayu Fish Sauce - A Saucy Success Story", programme page, aired 19 August 2016web