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Sauces and condiments from Philippines

Toyò (Philippine soy sauce)toyò

Toyò is Philippine soy sauce, usually from soybeans, wheat, salt and caramel colour. In a Philippine research centre's method, soaked and steamed soybeans are mixed with roasted flour and a koji starter, grown into koji for 4–5 days, fermented in brine for about three months, pressed, darkened with molasses and pasteurised. It is thinner and saltier than its Southeast Asian counterparts.

Fully documentedSauces and condiments3.1 months – 3.2 monthsFamily: Koikuchi shoyu (Japanese dark soy sauce, honjōzō brewed) — reference process

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOne laboratory-scale batch from the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center, Visayas State College of Agriculture (Data et al. 1986), with wheat flour as the control.
Soybeans1 kgSoaked overnight[data1986]
Wheat flour, roasted until light brown1 kgSweet potato or cassava flour worked as substitutes in the study[data1986]
StarterAspergillus oryzae or A. sojae grown on 200 g of steamed rice[data1986]
Salt0.925 kg[data1986]
Water3.55 L[data1986]
MolassesTo colourAdded to darken and thicken the sauce[data1986]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (Aspergillus oryzae or A. sojae)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.1 months – 3.2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Soaked soybeans are steamed soft

Step 1 of 5
Soak and steam the soybeans
Time
1.5–3 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Aspergillus oryzae

Output: cooked soybeans.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
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

Toyò is Philippine soy sauce, usually from soybeans, wheat, salt and caramel colour. In a Philippine research centre's method, soaked and steamed soybeans are mixed with roasted flour and a koji starter, grown into koji for 4–5 days, fermented in brine for about three months, pressed, darkened with molasses and pasteurised. It is thinner and saltier than its Southeast Asian counterparts. Made in 5 steps over 3.1 months – 3.2 months. The longest step, add salt and water and ferment the mash, takes at least 3 months (Data E.S 1986). Salt is 10 % (Data E.S 1986). Aspergillus oryzae or A. sojae does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsReported[data1986]Add salt and water and ferment the mash
Temperature80 °CReported[data1986]Darken with molasses and pasteurise
Salt10 %Reported[data1986]Press, and extract twice more with brine
AciditypH 5.1–5.5Reported[data1986]Add salt and water and ferment the mash

What makes this one different

Toyò is closest to Japanese koikuchi, but the Philippine kind is thinner and saltier than other Southeast Asian soy sauces and is usually darkened with caramel colour. Philippine researchers have replaced the imported wheat with local sweet potato or cassava flour without losing yield.

Related ferments

Variants

  • ToyomansiToyò mixed with calamansi juice, often with siling labuyo chillies, as a dipping sauce.
  • Root-crop toyòSweet potato or cassava flour replaces wheat; cooked sweet potato flour gave the best yield and amino nitrogen close to the wheat sauce.

Safety

Salt and the final 80 °C pasteurisation are its hurdles. The study's sauce was below the usual salt level, which the authors noted could be raised. The Philippine national standard PNS 274:1993 sets, for fermented-type soy sauce, a pH of 4.3–5.0 and 15–25 % salt (m/m), as reported by Fukutome.

History and sources

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

The name comes from tau-yu in Philippine Hokkien. Fukutome, citing Sanchez (2008), reports that Philippine soy sauce was first brewed in jars at home in the Chinese way and was industrialised in modern times with Japanese shoyu methods; the three large brands she lists are Silver Swan, Datu Puti and Marca Piña.

  1. [data1986] Data E.S., Diamante J.C., Forio E.E. 1986, Soy sauce production utilizing root crop flour as substitute for wheat flour (100 % substitution), Annals of Tropical Research 8(1):42–50, Visayas State College of Agriculture, Baybay, Leytepaper
  2. [fukutome-fc25] 福留奈美 (Fukutome N.), アジアのソイソース ― フィリピン、タイ、ベトナムにおけるソイソースの利用 (soy sauce in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam), Kikkoman Institute for International Food Culture, FOOD CULTURE No. 25, pp. 14–21paper
  3. [wp-soy] Wikipedia, Soy sauce (Philippines section; names, uses and history outline)wiki