Some of the most welcome souvenirs to bring home are rice accompaniments and seasonings.
Both fit easily into everyday meals, so there is no need to rush to finish them. They also bring back memories of the trip whenever you use them, which is why I actively seek out this category.
The product introduced here is a soy sauce I found at Umakuta no Sato.
The large brush-written characters for “Shijimi Soy Sauce” make an immediate impact.
One tablespoon contains as much ornithine as 30 freshwater clams. As someone who enjoys alcohol, I was delighted to read that.
More importantly, I already love the flavor of shijimi, so buying it was an easy decision.
Shijimi Soy Sauce (Higeta Shoyu)
A 150-milliliter bottle cost around 300 yen.
The best-before date is printed on the side. It kept for roughly a year and a half from the purchase date.
Its color is lighter than ordinary soy sauce, resembling a dashi-seasoned sauce.
A small taste revealed an impressively strong shijimi stock. Because it is slightly sweet, I decided not to use it for sashimi.
Instead, I made tamago kake gohan—hot rice topped with raw egg.
Trying Tamago Kake Gohan with Higeta Shijimi Soy Sauce
I placed a fresh egg, also bought at Umakuta no Sato, on a bowl of steaming rice.
Then I poured the shijimi soy sauce over the egg.
I mixed everything thoroughly and took a bite.
Wonderful!
I may never be able to return to ordinary soy sauce.
This matches tamago kake gohan even better than soy sauce made specifically for the dish.
The concentrated shijimi extract is overflowing with savory depth. Rather than covering the clam aroma, the refined soy-sauce flavor draws it out to its fullest.
After buying this bottle, I actually ate tamago kake gohan almost every day and emptied it astonishingly quickly.
For completeness, I also tried a little with sashimi, but it was not a particularly good match.
Even so, this is definitely a product I would buy again.
The compact 150-milliliter bottle is easy to give to someone and makes an excellent souvenir. The only difficulty is that Umakuta no Sato displays so many different soy sauces that, when faced with them all, I may be tempted to try another one.
Thank you for the meal!
See the page below for our Chiba souvenir roundup.
Shijimi Soy Sauce Product Info, Expiration Date, Manufacturer
| Product Name | Shijimi Soy Sauce |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer / Seller | Higeta Shoyu |
| Address | 516 Hachiman-cho, Choshi, Chiba |
| Expiration Date | About 18 months from purchase |
| Place of Purchase | Umakuta no Sato |
| Price | Approx. ¥300 |
