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Soy of Asia 『Soy Usage in the , and 』

Food Coordinator and Cooking Culture Researcher, Nami Fukutome

1. Introduction My co-researcher in the Philippines once said to me, Nami Fukutome “If you are eating and , you have to use Coordinator, Ph.D , right?” Her words stuck in my mind. It Ochanomizu University SHOKUIKU(Food Education) Senior Expert, occurred to me that in the Philippines, Kikkoman is Researcher at Institute for Global synonymous with Japanese shoyu. And it made me Leadership, Ochanomizu University happy to know that people in the Philippines make a Born in Kochi Prefecture, point of exclusively using Japanese for pairing with Japanese dishes like sushi. It also made method. For this article, I focused on soy sauce usage me think, how and in what kinds of dishes do they use in three countries – the Philippines, Thailand and Philippines-made soy sauce? Vietnam. The three countries are preeminent users of All over Asia, you can find fermented made sauce in traditional cuisine, thus I wanted to see from -preserved , fish, , how pervasive soy sauce is and how it is used. crustaceans, or other ingredients. Though and shoyu are famous worldwide as Japanese fermented 2. Salted Fermented Seasonings seasonings, few people know that we also have fish- While all containing , fermented seasonings based fermented seasonings like shotturu and ishiru. come in many forms, including sour-tasting , On the other hand, while nam pla in Thailand and nuoc sweet products like , and a variety of salt- mam in Vietnam are famous fish sauces, I learned that preserved and fermented seasonings that salty. soy sauce and -based pastes like miso also The latter are referred to as salted fermented seasonings exist there. I started this survey with the simple in this article. Table 1 below shows typical salted question of how these fermented seasonings are used. fermented seasonings from the Philippines, Thailand, In English, all the soy-based seasonings in Asia fall and Vietnam, as well as Japan and . Compared to under the simple translation of ’soy sauce’. In the first grain-based sauces, including those made from article of the ‘Soy Sauces of Asia’ series, Food Culture soybeans, there is remarkable variety in fish sauces, No.24, I reported that Korean Ganjang and Japanese which are salt-preserved and fermented, based on fish, shoyu differ both in ingredients and production shrimp, small crustaceans and all kinds of marine and

Table 1. Salted Fermented Seasonings in Five Asian Countries

3. Soybean/ 4. -flavored 5. 1.Country 2. Soy Sauce Grain-based / in Liquid and 6. //Salted Entrails Solid/Liquid Sauce Transparent (ingredients)

Miso,Shio-koji, -shoyu(Shotturu, (Fish, Fish intestine///kidney, Japan Shoyu shoyu-koji Kaki-shoyu Ishiru/Ishiri, Ikanago-shoyu) shrimp, , octopus, sea , ascidians, etc.)

Doenjang, , (Fish, Fish intestines/roe, shrimp, from Korea Ganjang Cheongukkjang Aekjeot shellfish, oyster, squid, and etc.)

Bagoong (Fish, shrimp, oyster, , oyster sauce from China Philippines Toyo Tausi,Miso,Tahure Patis fish roe, shrimp roe and etc. )

Nam /, etc. (Fish), Kapi, etc(Shrimp), Thailand Si-iw Tao chiau Nam mun hoi Nam pla Poo dong(crab), Hoi dong(), etc.

Mam(Fish, Shrimp, clams, Vietnam Nuoc tuong, Xi dau Tuong,Chao Dau hao Nuoc mam , Echinoidea family, etc.)

14 FOOD CULTURE freshwater species. Though fish sauces like shotturu are generally called gyosho in Japan, Table 1 adopts the title sakana-shoyu in accordance with the classification by Mr. Naomichi Ishige, honorary professor, National Museum of Ethnology. Each country has a general term for soy sauce: shoyu in Japan, ganjang in Korea, the Tagalog word toyo in the Pork Pork Patatim Philippines, and si-iw in Thailand. Finally, nuoc tuong Sawsawan, meaning in Tagalog, is one is the most common term for soy sauce in Vietnam, of the most important elements of Philippine food however it is said that the term xi dau is more typically culture. The idea is that the of a dish should used in northern parts of Vietnam. be completed at the table by each individual, using the It is impossible to conduct uniform comparison of sawsawan available, according to their preferences. soybean and grain-based pastes (in solid or liquid Sawsawan often start with a base of toyo or patis (fish form), because they differ so greatly in ingredients, sauce) and add either kalamansi or for acidity, production method, color, and shape across countries. tamarind for , or chopped Oyster sauce has been included because in Thailand and onion, for accompanying roasted , steamed one of the main ingredients in oyster sauce is soybean- fish, and other dishes. Kalamansi, the quintessential based sauce. Vietnam has many national brand oyster Philippine citrus fruit, is a good match for toyo, and sauces, and Japan has its own kaki-shoyu, though the this combination is readily available at all methods and resulting products vary greatly from Chi- over the Philippines. The dipping sauce can be poured nese oyster sauce. Fish sauces can be found in each on to stir-fries, dishes, and steamed , and is so country, but this table does not allow for a full listing of popular that a large selection of manufactured products the different key ingredients. Pastes and salted entrails is available on the market. exist in countless varieties across the five countries, and they are based on fish, shrimp, small crustaceans and all kinds of marine and freshwater species. Even within a single country, the pastes differ greatly from region to region, and while in some places they are used as a seasoning in cooking, in others they are a standalone dish. There is a great deal of prior research Toyo based dipping Toyo kalamansi Commercially available sauce with a steamed served at a products combining toyo on salted fermented seasonings in each country. It dish with kalamansi juice would be very interesting to integrate those studies and provide a detailed comparative report. 3-2. Soy Sauce Consumption and Given it is not possible to cover all these different Varieties in the Philippines seasonings at once, this article focuses on the present- The 2008 Philippines National Nutrition Survey shows day usage of soy sauce in the Philippines, Thailand and that the daily consumption frequency of soy sauce and Vietnam, while also touching on the presence of three different types of /shrimp products Japanese shoyu in those three countries and the is essentially the same, at once a day. However, the proliferation of Asian food ingredients in Japan. percentage of all families that consume soy sauce is more than 30%. From this we can conclude soy sauce is more 3. Soy Sauce Usage in the Philippines commonly used in home cooking than fish sauces in the 3-1. Philippine Cuisine featuring Toyo Philippines.The soy sauce shelves in large-scale One dish representative of Philippine cuisine is Adobo, supermarkets are lined with varieties from 60mL small in which meat or is marinated in vinegar and plastic packages to 1 gallon (3.785L) containers, made then simmered until tender. There are countless by the three biggest makers – , Datu Puti varieties of Adobo in terms of ingredients and and Marca Piña – as well as products from three to four seasonings, but the most typical kind, popular in other brands. The shelves a much larger selection restaurants of Philippine cuisine, is pork or than those of Table2 Seasonings in the Philippines: frequency of consumption and percentage of households cooked with soy sauce, known as toyo. In one specialty fermented consuming such ; Philippines 2008 cookbook featuring almost 200 Adobo recipes, close to fish products Frequency % of Food Item (per day) Consuming Households 70% of the recipes called for toyo, showing clearly that nearby. 1.3 81.1 toyo is a frequently used seasoning for Adobo. The labels Coconut oil 1.5 70.5 Toyo is found not only in Adobo, but also in many classify the Salt, coarse 1.0 64.9 Soy sauce 1.0 30.8 home-style simmered dishes. Patatim, an established sauces into Iodized salt 1.0 14.6 Chinese-style Philippine dish, is made of bone-in pork three types: Vinegar, coconut 1.0 14.3 or pork belly simmered in toyo and oyster sauce. Tapa, soy sauce, Vinegar, pineapple 1.0 14.2 a dish always available on Philippine menus, Chinese soy Coconut cream 1.2 13.9 Bagoog isda, ginamos 1.0 10.1 is popular for its salty-sweet flavors. Fresh pork or beef sauce, and Patis 1.0 6.1 marinated in salt and , or cured meat, is cut into seasoning Shirimp paste, alamang 1.0 4.7 1.1 2.2 slices, seasoned and cooked in a combination of sugar sauce. ＊Sample Households n=36,634 ＊Food and Nutrition Research Institute Department of Science and toyo, then served with steamed rice and a . Philippine and Technology, Facts and Figures2008, 2010

FOOD CULTURE 15 toyo is known to be darker in color and saltier than really stood out in terms of both taste and aroma, and Japanese shoyu and thus is best suited for use in we felt that with its strong soybean and subtle dipping sauces and as a seasoning in cooking. Chinese saltiness, it would be a great accompaniment to sashimi soy sauce is also used for cooking; and seasoning and sushi. Though I sensed rich umami flavor in sauce, led by the brand, is used as an all- varieties 2, 8 and 9, there were no comments from the purpose seasoning on the table to pour on fried eggs Philippine participants regarding umami. and steamed rice. In the Philippines, umami is most typically linked to According to the Philippine National Standards (PNS) (MSG), so it is not an aspect of from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) flavor that people are cognizant of when evaluating Bureau of Product Standards (BPS), soy sauce is flavor in ingredients and seasonings. A French food classified into three types: fermented, hydrolyzed and science researcher once told me the same thing. blend (Table 3). Table 4 shows the ingredients as Despite being one of the five basic flavors, I was recorded on the labels of the major brands. Though soy surprised to learn how little understood the concept of sauce in the Philippines was once prepared in pots, in the umami is around the world. I really feel we need to traditional Chinese style, in recent years, the Philippines raise awareness of the true meaning of umami and im- has seen the introduction of Japanese shoyu-making prove the understanding of one of the most important techniques and industrialization of the production aspects of Japanese food culture. process, according to Dr. Sanchez.*1 I had the chance to taste toyo produced by Philippine 3-3. Shoyu in the Philippines brands with five Philippine students, including my co- In Makati, the central business district of Manila, many researchers. The varieties we tried are represented by people dine at all-you-can-eat , where it costs numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9 in Table 4. To summarize approximately 600-700 peso per meal (1 USD = 44 our evaluation of the six varieties: numbers 1, 3, and 5 Peso) (Source: Oanda Corporation, oanda.com, April have rich saltiness, and 5 especially has a strong 10, 2015). At one such called YakiMIX, there is saltiness similar to patis, almost giving it a fishy flavor; a corner dedicated to Japanese dishes, presenting number 3 has a chemical flavor, which we did not find favorites like sushi, , and . agreeable, but it should be noted that this brand is Apart from the traditional and shoyu typically used in cooking; the saltiness of numbers 2 combination, a dipping sauce of shoyu and juice from a and 8 is subtle and the good balance of flavor with citrus fruit called kalamansi is often served with sushi pleasant sweetness makes it good as a straight table in the Philippines. Takeout sushi purchased at a food sauce, such as for pouring on steamed rice. Number 9 court was also accompanied by fresh kalamansi. Tokyo Sushi Academy is an institute based in Shinjuku that trains sushi chefs. It has a sister school in Singapore and has also started a sushi course in Manila in cooperation with a local cooking school. Mr. Takahashi, a lecturer at the school who is very familiar with sushi trends in Asia, said that rolled sushi is the most popular variety in the Philippines, and that you One gallon bottles of toyo will often find a topping of mayonnaise onnigiri sushi (the oblong-shaped pressed vinegared rice topped with fish). National brands of soy sauce on supermarket shelves I tried Philippines-style sushi and dipping sauce, and Major toyo brands (numbers indicate brands displayed in table 4) the acidity of the kalamansi juice in the shoyu was actually really delicious - a good contrasting refreshing flavor to the oiliness of the fish. In Japan, we often use , a citrus flavoredshoyu sauce for seasoning, but when it comes to sushi, it is only used with limited ingredients, such as white fish. If in the future there is a Brands 1~5 Brands 6 and 7 Brand 8

Table. 3 Types of Soy Sauce in the Philippines Table. 4 Ingredients of Soy sauce in Philippine Soy Sauce Brand name item name on label Ingredients ■ Total Nitrogen (BAFPS PNS*) 0.4%, minimum Water, Soy Bean Extract, Flour, Iodized salt, 1 Silver Swan Soy Sauce Caramel and less than 0.1% Benzoate ■ 3MCPD** (MC***4s. 2002) 1ppm, maximum 2 Datu Puti Soy Sauce Water, Hydrolyzed Soybean , Iodized Salt, , Monosodium Glutamate, Acidulant, Potassium Sorbate, Flavor and Artificial Color ■(PNS 274:1993, DTI-BPS****) FermentedHydrolyzed Blend 3 Marca Piña Soy Sauce Water, Soy Beans, Iodized Salt, Caramel, & Soy Sauce, Water, Salt, Flour, Naturally , pH 4.3 - 5.0 4 Coconut Brand Fermented Concentrated soy sauce and Caramel Color Salt as NaCl, %, (m/m) 15 - 25 Premium Soy Sauce, 5 Naturally Fermented, Soy Bean, Salt, Caramel, Flour and other spices All-Purpose Seasoning Total solids (excluding NaCl), % ,(m/m),min 5 Premium 6 SM Bonus Soy Beans, Wheat, Sugar, Iodized Salt, Total nitrogen, %, (m/m), min 0.6 0.4 0.6 Soy Sauce Water and 0.1% sodium benzoate as 7 Hydrolyzed Protein Extracted from Wheat Flour, Amino nitrogen, %, (m/m), min 0.20 0.14 0.20 SM Bonus Chinese Soy Sauce Soy Beans, Water, Salt, Caramel Color Total halophilic count, cfu/mL, max 20 8 Sure Buy Seasoning Soy Beans, Wheat, Sugar, Iodized Salt, Water, (All-Purpose) 0.1% Sodium Benzoate as a preservative * BAFPS PNS; Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards Philippine National Standards Kikkoman Naturally Brewed ** 3MCPD; 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol 9 (imported from Singapore) Soy Sauce Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt, Sodium Benzoate as preservative *** MC4s. 2002; **** DTI-BPS; Department of Trade and Industry - Bureau of Product Standard *1 Chinte-Sanchez, Priscilla. Philippine Fermented Foods: Principles and Technology. Diliman, Quezon City, Phil-ippines: The University of the Philippines Press, 2008. 16 FOOD CULTURE trend to eat sushi with citrus flavored shoyu, it is probably safe to say it is the Philippines style!

Pad thai, rice noodle Khao Pad Kaprao, Stir-fried Kuai-tiao Moo Nam, Rice dish featuring Thai basil Noodle with Pork

Sushi corner at YakiMIX Food court takeaway Mr. Hideyuki Takahashi manages Thai restaurants and cooking schools in sushi package teaching sushi-making Thailand and overseas. My teacher, Ms. Charles Burana, said that in Thailand they combine si-iw-khao 4. Thailand (light soy sauce) to give the dish a salty flavor, withsi- 4-1. Thai Dishes Using Si-iw iw-dam (), which adds sweetness and Well-known Iron Chumpol, who promotes rich color. In Japan, we use either koikuchi shoyu traditional , seldom uses si-iw (soy sauce) (literally, thick-flavored soy sauce) orusukuchi shoyu at his restaurant. His assertion is that traditional Thai (light soy sauce) depending on the dish, not both dishes should be made with fermented fish products together. In the Philippines, they seldom combine the such as nam pla (fish sauce) andkapi (shrimp paste). A different types of soy sauce because there are no great dish he recommended I eat for looked like differences in color or taste. In contrast, in Thailand, Chinese stir-fried morning glory, but instead of being light and dark si-iw are combined in one dish to control seasoned with soy sauce, it was cooked with kapi. the saltiness, sweetness, and color. It is also really common in Thailand to use si-iw, nam pla and nam mun hoi in different ratios to make Chinese-style Thai dishes, and many Thai home- cooking cookbooks include recipes that call for that combination of sauces. It seems that the addition of nam pla to dishes originating from has Iron Chef Chumpol Jangprai Thai dishes at Siam Wisdom: Thai , Tom been a way of adjusting the flavor to suit local . Yum Goong and stir-fried green However, my Thai co-researcher was quick to name 4-2. Soy Sauce Consumption and several popular Thai dishes in which si-iw is Varieties in Thailand indispensable. is a typical noodle dish in Looking at statistics on the consumption of table Thailand. Medium width are stir-fried and sauces in Thailand, it is clear that only 15% of total seasoned usually with both si-iw and nam pla, though consumption volume is accounted for by soy sauce and sometimes only one or the other. Khao Pad Kaprao is a sauces containing soybean paste (see Figure 1). stir-fried dish featuring Thai basil (kaprao) seasoned However, such soy-based sauces constitute 31% of the with si-iw, and made with various ingredients such as market in terms of value, which shows that soy-based pork, chicken, beef, intestines or seafood. sauces are more expensive than nam pla fish sauces. Kuai-tiao Pad Si-iw is a soy-sauce flavored stir-fried Looking more specifically at consumption of soy-based dish containing Kuai-tiao rice noodles, said to have sauces in 2014, the estimated market value was 5.8 been brought in from Chiuchow, China. The broad billion Thai Baht, more than half going to the purchase category includes senyai wide flat noodles,senlek thin of seasoning sauces, as shown in Figure 2 below. This noodles, and senmee very fine noodles. A dish called was followed by purchases of light soy sauce (si-iw- Kuai-tiao Moo Nam, noodles with pork (moo) in soup khao) at 21.5%, with the remainder spread fairly (nam), that we found at a food court, was also seasoned evenly across (si-iw-whan), dark soy with si-iw. It is interesting to note that while the name sauce (si-iw-dam) and soybean paste (tao-chiau). Pad Si-iw is often thought to exclusively indicate a noodle dish, in fact, pad simply means ‘stir-fried’, thus any dish in which ingredients are stir-fried with soy sauce can be referred to as Pad Si-iw. Given si-iw is so commonly used in Thai daily cooking, there appears to be very little distinction drawn between Thai and Chinese cuisine. However, Three different seasonings: light soy Koong Ob Woon Sen Clay-pot Stir- there are a few really traditional Thai dishes on the one sauce, dark soy sauce and oystersauce. fried Glass Noodles with Prawns hand, just as there are several that clearly stand out as Chinese-style. Good examples of the latter are Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng (Stir-fried Morning Glory) and Koong Ob Woon Sen (Clay-pot Stir-fried Glass Noodles with Prawns). Both are cooked and seasoned with a combination of si-iw and nam mun hoi (oyster sauce). Ms. Charles Burana, Lecturer of Blue Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng Stir-fried I took a cooking class at Blue Elephant, which Elephant cooking class in Morning Glory

FOOD CULTURE 17 Figure 1. Table Sauce Consumption by Volume, and (sauce-prung-rot) and sold in packaging with green Proportion of Market by Value, 2013 Results caps. Comparing prices of the two main categories sold by Volume 5% Fish Sauce by Healthy Boy, one of the largest sauce companies in 9% Soy-based Sauce Thailand, 300mL of first press, premium fermented light soy sauce costs 24 THB, compared to just 19.5 15% Oyster Sauce 71% THB for the same volume of seasoning sauce. Others Semi-chemical soy sauce is also referred to with the Japanese technique name shinshiki shoyu, despite being Total 334 kt made differently to the original mixed method approved by the Japan Agricultural Standard (JAS). by Value Fish Sauce 8% This variety is only produced experimentally at present, Soy-based Sauce 16% with a view to expanding production in the future. Oyster Sauce 45% 4-3. Taste for Japanese Shoyu Expanding in Thailand Others 31% We are currently in the midst of a worldwide

Total 16.7 billion THB boom. Especially popular is tonkotsu ra-men, with its thick and cloudy soup made from pork bones. In the Figure 2. Soy-based Sauce Proportion of Market by Value, 2014 Estimate Philippines, where people are accustomed to eating a lot Seasoning Sauce of pork, Hakata-style shops are Soy-based 8.8% Sauce experiencing great success. On the other hand, the most 7.2% Light Soy Sauce Sweet Soy Sauce popular ramen company in Thailand is Hachi-ban Co., 8.3% Ltd., originating nearly 50 years ago in Ishikawa 54.3% Dark Soy Sauce 21.5% Soybean Paste Prefecture, Japan. Having opened its first Hachi-ban restaurant in Bangkok in 1992, it now has a total of 110 Total 5.8 billion THB locations, and ‘Hachi-ban’ has become synonymous

Source: Euromonitor International, 2014. Sauce, dressing and in Thailand. with ramen in Thailand, just like it is for Ishikawa residents. The most popular dish on the menu is Ramen The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) classifies soy-based sauces into three broad categories (see Table 5). Fermented soy sauce is further subdivided into four varieties: light, dark, sweet, and salt dark soy sauce (si-iw-dam-kem). While the market share is very small for the richer, thicker si-iw-dam-kem, professional chefs consider one local brand to be the perfect finishing sauce forKhao Pad Kaprao. Dark or Various sauces from the biggest brand Seasoning sauces Nguan Chiang brand, with its Healthy Boy (from left, first press Light Soy with green caps golden ship logo, founded in black soy sauce is made from light soy sauce with Sauce / Black Soy Sauce / Sweet Soy Sauce 1912 as the first soy sauce added sweeteners, colors, flavors and viscosity, and / Black Sweet Soy Sauce / Seasoning Sauce) maker in Thailand brings slightly salty and sweet flavors as well as darker Figure 3. Soy-based Sauce Market Share by Value, color to dishes. Sweet soy sauce contains a very low 2013 Results Yan Wal Yun ‘Healthy boy’ ratio of light soy sauce, and because its main ingredient Market 5.7% Tra Maekrua ‘Maekrua’ is some kind of sweetener like , it is mainly Share 8.0% 24.3% Nguan Chiang used for sweetening and coloring. One additional ‘Golden ship’ 12.0% Nestle ‘Maggi’ variety on the market is a kind of intermediate product Thai Theparos Food Products PCL ‘Golden mountain’ 12.8% 19.9% called black sweet soy sauce. Each soy sauce company Universal Food PCL ‘UFC’ creates their own mixture to provide the perfect 17.3% Others combination of salty and sweet flavors, as well as color. Total 5.2 billion THB Chemical soy sauce is displayed as seasoning sauce Source: Euromonitor International, 2014, Sauce, dressing and condiments in Thailand

Table 5. Soy Sauce Varieties in Thailand

Type Thai name the meaning of Thai Description

Soy sauce with the process Si-iw Soy sauce 1. Fermented soy sauce of naturally

Fermented soy sauce with or without addition 1.1 Light soy sauce Si-iw-khao White soy sauce of flavoring or color. A base for 1.2,1.3,1.4,3, 4 The most popular ramen dish at Hachi-ban Continue fermenting 1.1 Si-iw-dam-kem Salty black soy sauce 1.2 Salt dark soy sauce for darker and thicker sauce

Blend 1.1 with sweeteners until reaching Si-iw-dam Black soy sauce 1.3 Dark soy sauce desirable color, thickness and flavor

Blend small amount of 1.1 with sweeteners Si-iw-whan Sweet soy sauce 1.4 Sweet soy sauce until reaching desirable sweetness

2. Chemical soy sauce Sauce-prung-rot Seasoning sauce Acid-hydrolyzed soybean sauce

(the term and techenique originally Sauce combined the process of fermented and 3. Semi-chemical Shinshiki shoyu came from Japan but different from acid-hydrolyzed to shorten the production time while soy sauce Japanese 'Shinshiki') maintaining flavor and aroma Japanese seasonings section at a major supermarket Source：Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) 18 FOOD CULTURE with mixed vegetables, seafood and meat in a soy sauce-based soup. I think it is great that the flavor behind the Thais’ favorite Japanese food is based on Japanese-style soy sauce. When visiting a major supermarket in Bangkok, I was amazed at the selection of seasonings in the Japanese ingredients section. In addition to the imported brands, there was a whole row of locally-produced shoyu and Lunch set of boiled pork and Deli version of Thit Trung shoyu-based dipping sauces. I will be really interested to with nuoc tuong dipping sauce see from here how the taste of Japanese shoyu is received has differed significantly to that of the south. and gains popularity in Thailand, which until now has At an eatery in Ho Chi Minh, I ordered a fish dish. been so strongly influenced by Chinese soy-based sauces. Based purely on appearance, I was sure that it had been simmered in soy sauce, but when I tasted it, I found that 5. Vietnam it had been seasoned with nuoc mam, not nouc tuong. 5-1 using Nuoc Tuong It seems that a lot of Vietnamese dishes are salted with In Vietnam, the four most typical kinds of noodles are nuoc mam, but unlike Thailand where there are also bun, , and hu tieu (all rice noodles), and flour-based thick, dark varieties of soy sauce to add color to a dish, Chinese noodles known as mi. Nuoc mam (fish sauce) in Vietnam, those qualities come from caramel or burnt is often used to flavor noodle , and nuoc tuong sugar. Traditional Vietnamese caramel seasoning is (soy sauce) is typically found in dishes containing mi made from boiled down coconut water. The price of the flour noodles or western-style pasta. At a café, I caramel varieties available on the market today differs spotted a dish named ‘Chinese spaghetti’, which was according to whether the product actually contains seasoned with nuoc tuong. In Japan, when we cook coconut water, and if so, in what proportion. pasta dishes with shoyu to give them a distinctly Japanese flavor, we call them wafu-pasta -wafu meaning ‘Japanese style’. In Vietnam, or at least in Ho Chi Minh, it seems that the use of nuoc tuong conveys the image of Chinese-style flavors. Thit Kho Trung, a typical Vietnamese dish of boiled pork and egg, available at local cafeterias and delis Simmered with nuoc mam Soup, which appears to be flavored with everywhere, uses nuoc tuong in its seasoning. The name soy sauce, but in fact used nuoc mam means ‘meat’, ‘boil’, and ‘egg’, respectively, and the While nuoc mam appears to dish is typically served with a dipping sauce of nuoc dominate in Vietnamese cuisine, tuong mixed with water and sugar. and rice there is one genre of Vietnamese dishes are also usually accompanied by a mixture of restaurants, however, in which nuoc nuoc tuong with slices of fresh red chili peppers to be tuong is indispensable -vegetarian poured over the food before eating. This style, in which eateries adjacent to Buddhist temples. the diner pours a soy sauce or seasoning sauce–based Soy sauces, soybean pastes, and Caramel sauce; bottle in center contains caramel sauce over rice before eating, is found in common peanut sauces are typically used made from 100% coconut across the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. instead of nuoc mam or shrimp pastes, water Dishes similar to Thit Kho Trung exist in the called mam tom. Philippines and Thailand, and the Japanese version is called Buta no , or Raftee in Okinawa. These kinds of foods provide the link to China as the originator of jiang, made from fermented soybeans, and represent the incorporation of Chinese cuisine into the various local cuisines of Asia. It is one dish that has probably not evolved much from its original form. However, I found it interesting to hear that Thit Kho Dishes at a restaurant adjacent to Vinh Nghiem Temple in central Trung, the Vietnamese version, is sometimes seasoned a Buddhist temple Ho Chi Minh City with nuoc mam. Ms.Shinobu Itoh, researcher of Vietnamese cuisine and owner/coordinator of “an com” 5-2. ‘Soya Sauce’ Varieties in Vietnam Vietnamese cooking school in Japan, told me that in In Vietnam, nuoc tuong is generally written and Ho Chi Minh and southern Vietnam in general, people pronounced as ‘soya sauce’, not ‘soy sauce’. Though often season with nuoc mam. This contrasts greatly the pronunciation differs, soy can be written as ‘soja’ or with central and northern Vietnam where xi dau (soy ‘soya’ in both Spanish and French, and the continued sauce; called nuoc tuong in southern Vietnam) is the use of the word ‘soya’ is thought to be an indication of predominant seasoning. With the country stretching so enduring European, and particularly French influences, far from north to south, the history, relationships with from when Vietnam came under French rule. neighboring countries and acceptance of Chinese Research on the consumption of sauces and seasoning influences over time in central and northern Vietnam condiments in Vietnam shows that nuoc mam fish

FOOD CULTURE 19 sauces occupy over 70% of the total, in both volume 2) equate to the Japanese usukuchi and koikuchi, and value, compared to soya sauces, which make up respectively, but that is not the case. While the flavors less than 20% of the total. are slightly different, I did not notice much of a Masan, which with 78% has the largest market share in difference in the appearance or thickness between the soya sauces by value, has expanded its share by selling two types. However, what I did hear is that the standard high-end products with a focus on . The type is popular among restaurants owing to its company’s research shows that soya sauce affordability. Also, because it is not too strong, it can be consumption value per capita in Vietnam is lower than poured directly on to a dish. Hao vi, in contrast, is too Thailand and it feels there are very good prospects for strong to be used straight, and is therefore typically increasing sales, thus it is currently working on used as a base for dipping sauces adding water or vinegar. expanding the market.

Figure 4. Table Sauce Consumption by Volume, and Proportion of Market by Value, 2013 Results in Vietnam

by Volume 4.2% Fish Sauces 4.0% Soya sauces 19.4% Variety of sauces showing Top 3 brands from Masan: Bottles from the big three Spicy chilli / pepper the many makers and (left) Chin Su, marketed for brands each displaying their 72.4% products available on the its natural fermentation and thanh vi variety (on left) and market brewing processes; (middle) dam dac variety (on right) others a first-press variety with a brand name meaning ‘elder son’; (right) a second-press Total 387 kt variety called ‘second son’ I was interested to see that iodine- by Value added seasonings are found 10.7% Fish sauces 5.0% everywhere in Vietnam, and nuoc Soya sauces tuong made with iodized salt clearly 13.2% Spicy chilli / pepper states so on the label with the

71.1% others addition of the characters I-OT. Iodized salt sold at a convenience store

Total 12.1 trillion VND 5-3. Stronger Fish Sauce Culture in Vietnam Euromonitor International 2014, Sauce, dressing and condiments in Vietnam As mentioned earlier, the dipping sauce culture, seen in the Philippines and Thailand, is also very strong in At two major supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City, we Vietnam. Mam (fish/crustacean-based pastes), nuoc found a total of 23 varieties of soya sauce from seven mam, tuong (soybean paste), and nuoc tuong are different makers. In addition to soybeans as the key combined with vinegar, aromatic and acidic citrus fruit ingredient, many contain peanuts, a unique feature of juices or other fruits, sugar, peanuts and other Vietnamese soya sauces. ingredients in different combinations to create a variety In both Thailand and Vietnam, soy sauce is typically of dipping sauces, which are lined up at the dining table. produced in the traditional Chinese style using pots. A Among the three countries I visited this time, the ratio majority of producers distinguish the first press liquid, of soy sauce usage compared to fish sauce is the which drips down naturally during the mash filtration highest in the Philippines, followed by Thailand and process, from the second or subsequent liquids that are then Vietnam. Fish sauce culture was felt to be the extracted with brine to draw out nitrogen. In contrast, strongest in Vietnam, especially in the South. Japanese shoyu makers conduct filtration just once, in a As shown in Table 1, each country has a large variety process that applies pressure to the sack containing the mash. of fish pastes and fermented fish and seafood products. You find the following three types on label descriptions However, my observation from visiting large of soya sauce products in Vietnam: 1) standard, with no supermarkets in the major cities of Manila, Bangkok description or described as thanh vi, meaning light; 2) and Ho Chi Minh, is that the widest variety of fish and dark, thick and concentrated varieties known as dam shrimp pastes and the largest number of brand labels of dac or hao vi; and 3) seasoning sauces. such products can be found in Vietnam. No less than From the descriptions, it would seem that types 1) and ten kinds and fifteen different brands of bottled fermented fish, shrimp and other crustacean- Table 6. Standards of Soy Sauce in Vietnam based paste products lined the shelves of a Type Vietnamese name Description supermarket in Ho Chi Minh. At a local fresh

Fermented or brewed soybean or mixture of market selling handmade products, nearly ten Naturally brewed Nước tương lên men soybean and by oryzae and/or soy sauce Aspergillus ; sojae and/or and/or different kinds were found in either solid or with salt added and with/without sweeteners. paste form. More than thirty kinds of dried Non brewed soy Acid or hydrolysis of soybean fish and shrimp were being sold at a sauce; Hydrolyzed Nước tương thủy phân and/or defatted soybean, defatted peanut with salt soy sauce added and with/without sweeteners.. specialty store. The enormous variety in marine and freshwater produce simply amazed ướ ươ Combine fermented and acid/enzyme hydrolysis of Mixed soy sauce N c t ng lên men kết hợp thủy phân soybean or mixture of soybean and cereals me. It may support the argument that nam pla spread rapidly in Thailand during the 20th

20 FOOD CULTURE food culture and have them experience the tastes of their hometowns, to develop their interest in and knowledge of the diversity of washoku. We need them to become food ambassadors, in a way, sharing information on the value of with the rest of the world. We should also continue research on Dipping sauces at a hotel breakfast buffet Bottles of table seasonings at a deli the commonalities and differences among all the century thanks to the influence of Vietnamese nuoc ingredients, seasonings and spices found in Asian mam, as reported by Mr. Arashiyama in Food Culture cuisine to gain deeper cross-cultural understanding. No.6. The above is a summary of my observations on the 7. Conclusion research I conducted focusing on the salted fermented I would like to thank my fellow researchers in the seasonings of three countries I visited in Southeast Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam for their Asia. My research always reveals to me just how much tremendous cooperation in writing this article. Field more there is to learn! research is essential to understanding the food culture of a region; the culture can only be intricately 6. Asian Ingredients in Japan understood after learning the language and living Where in Japan can we buy all these Asian products, together with research subjects in the field. In that ingredients, and spices? In Chinatowns all over Japan, sense, it was not sufficient to base this article on you can find a large variety of Chinese ingredients, information collected during my brief visits to these table wares, and variety goods. In Tokyo, Ameyoko in countries privately and as a researcher. The article Ueno is well-known as the place to go for ingredients came together thanks to the key information and from all over the world. The underground mall there is insight provided by my local collaborators. filled with Asian condiments, spices, dried ingredients, As yet unresolved is the issue of how to standardize as well as fresh fish. Grocery stores in Kinshicho stock notation for words from the local languages in English a rich assortment of Asian ingredients, especially from alphabetical format and Japanese characters. The Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and . Korean official national standards for food in Thailand and restaurants and groceries are concentrated in the area of Vietnam are not recorded in English, so the English Shin-Okubo, which I introduced in detail in my notations found in this article are those translated by previous report. my colleagues. I am very grateful to Ms. Phattraphan Bunnag, who completed her study on Thai-Japanese food terms at Ochanomizu University, for her advice on translating Thai terminology into katakana for the Japanese version of this article, and to so many others who gave their precious time and kind cooperation. There are so many challenging topics to cover when it Ameyoko Center Assortment of seasonings from around comes to cross-cultural comparison of ingredient usage the world, sold at the underground mall or multi-lingual comparison of food-related terms and To give a sense of the accessibility in Japan to these expressions, but I truly find this work fascinating. The Asian flavors:pho is a staple amongst instant noodles expertise gained while conducting research for this available at convenient stores; Thai-style green and red article raised more hypotheses, planting the seeds for curry and Indian Keema curry are sold in the ready-to- many possible future research projects. Going forward, eat food corner of every 100-yen shop; and chic Asian I hope to help build a solid network of local cafe menus typically include Vietnamese coffee and collaborators so that together we can conduct research che (shaved ice). Until recently, we clumped all Asian in and further develop the field of international cuisines into a broad category called ‘ethnic cuisine’, comparison of food cultures. but more and more Japanese are getting to eat these foods every day and getting to know the unique characteristics of each cuisine. We also have the opportunity to learn about imported ingredients and spices at cooking classes. I am certain that, going forward, Asian food culture will be classified into more refined groupings and that knowledge of and love for Melanie Henson Narciso Ravipim Chaveesuk (left) Dr. Nguyen Thi LanPhi the cuisines will spread further and more deeply all (Philippines) and Dr. Ajchara Kessuvan (Vietnam) around the world. (right) (Thailand) ＜ Philippines ＞ Against that backdrop, what is the best way for us to Melanie Henson Narciso, RND, MSc, Assistant Professor, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Baños transmit Japanese food culture to the world? Some say ＜ Thailand ＞ Japanese food culture, known as washoku, was Ravipim Chaveesuk, Assitant. Professor, and Ajchara kessuvan, Ph.D, Agro- Logistics and Supply chain Management, Department of Agro-Industrial Technology, Faculty of Agro- registered as a UNESCO intangible cultural asset Industry, Kasetsart University because it is an endangered food culture. What we must ＜ Vietnam ＞ Nguyen Thi LanPhi, Ph.D, Lecturer, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Vietnam National do is educate the younger generations about Japanese University –HCMC University of Technology

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