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Sauces and condiments from Japan

Ikanago shōyuいかなご醤油

Ikanago shōyu is a fish sauce from Kagawa on the Seto Inland Sea, made by salting and fermenting ikanago, the Japanese sand lance. Kagawa counts it among Japan's three great fish sauces. Production died out and was later brought back.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Ikanago shōyu itself.

Short entrySauces and condiments

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo source found gives amounts for ikanago shōyu.
Ikanago (Japanese sand lance)[sato1993]
Salt[codex302]
Start
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What changes: Sand lance are mixed with salt

Step 1 of 3
Mix the fish with salt
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

Ikanago shōyu is a fish sauce from Kagawa on the Seto Inland Sea, made by salting and fermenting ikanago, the Japanese sand lance. Kagawa counts it among Japan's three great fish sauces. Production died out and was later brought back.

What makes this one different

Shottsuru and ishiru, the other well-known Japanese fish sauces, come from the Sea of Japan coast. A 2001 Ōita report lists all three, with kōnago shōyu of Chiba, as the regional fish sauces that survived. Ikanago shōyu is the Seto Inland Sea fish sauce, made from sand lance, and it had died out before it was revived.

Related ferments

Safety

Fish sauce keeps because of its salt; Codex sets at least 200 g/l salt and at most 40 mg histamine per 100 g.

History and sources

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

Ikanago shōyu became a "phantom" fish sauce. Satō Masami, who succeeded in reconstructing it, described it in 1993. A 2015 Kagawa Prefecture workshop taught its history and how it is made.

  1. [sato1993] 佐藤正美 (Satō M.) 1993, 魚醤 瀬戸の魚醤油, いかなご醤油について (Fish sauce of the Seto Inland Sea, on ikanago shōyu), 日本醸造協会誌 88(2):135–139, doi:10.6013/jbrewsocjapan1988.88.135 (abstract)paper
  2. [kagawa2015] Kagawa Prefecture 2015, 平成27年度さぬきの食文化博士専門研修会 (workshop report on the history and making of ikanago shōyu)gov
  3. [oita2001] Yamamoto N., Mizue S., Sano K., Hara M., FY2001 research report of the Ōita Industrial Science and Technology Center, pp. 150–155 (lists ikanago shōyu of Kagawa among Japan's surviving regional fish sauces)gov
  4. [codex302] Codex Alimentarius, CXS 302-2011, Standard for fish sauce (general; amended 2012, 2013)spec