Hawaii Local Shoyu
Shoyu (aka soy sauce) is on every Hawaii table and is important to marinades of Hawaii cooking, alongside important Koiū Sauces that have been locally established. Made from soybean, wheat, salt, and fermented for its flavor of salty and savory it adds to dishes that it is made with. Living in Hawaii the shoyu that is most often used is different from the typical Japanese Shoyu and has a salty-sweetness and less of a bitterness to it or tartness that comes off stronger in traditional Shoyu. The sauce has had its own regional transformation that uses mold spores in a way that is local in its essence, characterized by geographical isolation, and limited space challenges of the islands. The history of this condiment is a record of lost recipes, defunct breweries, and the persistent attempt to capture the "spirit" of the land within a bottle of liquid umami.
It is common to enhance the sweetness by using sugar and shoyu together in recipes for more of the flavor to come out. There are several types of shoyu that can be bought, which are: Hawaii Shoyu (Original Hawaii Blend), Premium Shoyu (Stronger Blend), Tamari Shoyu (Traditional Japan blend) there are also Low-Sodium Shoyu and Gluten Free Shoyu. The stronger blend and traditional blends are stronger and saltier as well as darker selections, but overtime Hawaii has their own takes on those as well. Hawaii Soy Beans and Specific Bean-blends, Breakdown Chemical (acid-additive) and Soda Ash (sodium carbonate), maturation and fermentation with Hawaii Raised Molds are what define the shoyu in Hawaii. The flavor of Hawaii Water flavor is a very important part as the "Wai" is crucial in the taste, because of this each Valley had been known to drastically be able to produce different sorts of shoyu and other sauces using the natural water.
The brewing of shoyu in Hawaii required a radical departure from the traditional techniques of Japan, primarily due to the climatic differences. In Japan, shoyu and sake were historically brewed during the winter months (October through February) to allow for slow, controlled fermentation that inhibited the growth of undesirable bacteria. The heat of Hawaii posed a significant threat to the stability of the koji (the mold-inoculated substrate) and the moromi (the fermenting mash). Because of this, there would have to be refrigerated areas that were large to maintain a artificial climate, but to make shoyu year round there would have to be alternative shoyu's that could use the mold in warmer climates as well. It was a mix between the beneficial plant compounds like isoflavones that help delay or prevent free-radical damage to cells and a new understanding of how to maintain that. The fermentation process would need to keep the digestible amino acids through time, so that it could continue the benefit of stimulating gastric juices and supporting healthy gut bacteria.
The brewing of shoyu in Hawaii required a radical departure from the traditional techniques of Japan, primarily due to the climatic differences. In Japan, shoyu and sake were historically brewed during the winter months (October through February) to allow for slow, controlled fermentation that inhibited the growth of undesirable bacteria. The heat of Hawaii posed a significant threat to the stability of the koji (the mold-inoculated substrate) and the moromi (the fermenting mash). Because of this, there would have to be refrigerated areas that were large to maintain a artificial climate, but to make shoyu year round there would have to be alternative shoyu's that could use the mold in warmer climates as well. It was a mix between the beneficial plant compounds like isoflavones that help delay or prevent free-radical damage to cells and a new understanding of how to maintain that. The fermentation process would need to keep the digestible amino acids through time, so that it could continue the benefit of stimulating gastric juices and supporting healthy gut bacteria.
Imported as a luxury soy sauce was the earliest soy food known to exist in the Hawaiian Islands, with the ship Mary bringing a cargo from China that was auctioned in Honolulu by Henry Skinner & Co. on June 5, 1847. However, the specific Japanese style of brewing, known as shoyu, was introduced later through the arrival of the Gannenmono—the first group of 149 Japanese immigrants—aboard the three-masted sailing ship Scioto (Saioto-go) in 1868. These pioneers carried their own provisions of rice, miso, and shoyu, marking the biological introduction of the specific mold cultures necessary for brewing. During the final years of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Jihachi Shimada (alternatively recorded as Haruhachi Shimada), Yamaguchi-ken, established Shoyu Making in June 1891. The next major evolution was led by Nobuyuki Yamakami, a scholar who established a small factory at the junction of Punchbowl Street and Pauao Road in April 1900. Yamakami’s "Kenfu" brand (meaning "Wise Woman") utilized soybeans imported from Japan to produce a "sweet soy sauce," a profile that would eventually define the unique Hawaiian preference for milder, sugar-influenced seasonings.
Understanding Hawaiian shoyu is the relationship between the environment and the fermentation process, so that means it deals specifically with the care of the mold, the process of the specific area of Hawaiian land, and by extension it respects the systems that were in place with the ahupua'a system that organized resources from the mountain (mauka) to the sea (makai). Recognizing this was important to flavor variation, because if a Shoyu is made from different water, or at a different elevation, each one could come out different, especially with the ecological zones. This would mean it would provide a different gift to the community in its regionality. If shoyu is viewed as an extension of this land-based knowledge, the specific microclimate of a brewery would dictate the outcome of the sauce.
Hawaiian Shoyu Varieties
As the industry modernized and consolidated, several businesses and their unique "missing products" disappeared, leaving gaps in the sensory record of the islands. Brands like King Shoyu, Diamond Shoyu, and Club Shoyu represented a period of high regional diversity, where the flavor of the sauce was linked to the specific water and tastes of the people who lived in the nearby areas. As a condiment people had their bottles premixed with fish sauces like "Patis", "Squid" (Anchovy-base) and "Viet Huong", so they could make all sorts of Chicken Marinades, Noodle Dishes, and Soups.
Understanding Hawaiian shoyu is the relationship between the environment and the fermentation process, so that means it deals specifically with the care of the mold, the process of the specific area of Hawaiian land, and by extension it respects the systems that were in place with the ahupua'a system that organized resources from the mountain (mauka) to the sea (makai). Recognizing this was important to flavor variation, because if a Shoyu is made from different water, or at a different elevation, each one could come out different, especially with the ecological zones. This would mean it would provide a different gift to the community in its regionality. If shoyu is viewed as an extension of this land-based knowledge, the specific microclimate of a brewery would dictate the outcome of the sauce.
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