Nama shoyu question

[Autumn]

First off, I wish I had memorized the pronunciation of this before I left the house. I asked for "Namma sha-moo" *sigh* LOL!

The woman directed me to a bottle of shoyu, but not Nama. Is Nama the brand name, the flavor, or does the word mean raw?

[SedonaSun]

Don't quote me on this, but I remember seeing a post mentioning that "nama" means raw (or uncooked, or something similar.) I tried to find the post, but there's a TON of posts with "nama shoyu" in them. :eek:

"namma sha-moo"... ROFL, thanks, that cracked me up :p

[Autumn]

Thank you! I tried searching as well before I posted the question but was overwhelmed by the amount of posts it returned.

I think the woman at the store wanted to crack up at me, but she didn't dare I guess. I don't know why- I was laughing myself!

Thanks again!

[DotfromOz]

...having read somewhere that Nama Shoyu is both a brand name and the literal Japanese for "raw soy sauce."

As Japanese cuisine generally speaking, but for the strong tradition of sushis of various sorts, leans more toward processed and cooked food overall, I'm guessing that raw soy sauce is not very much in demand except among us weirdo Westerners.

[VeganVixen]

...having read somewhere that Nama Shoyu is both a brand name and the literal Japanese for "raw soy sauce."

As Japanese cuisine generally speaking, but for the strong tradition of sushis of various sorts, leans more toward processed and cooked food overall, I'm guessing that raw soy sauce is not very much in demand except among us weirdo Westerners.


I think the japanese have a much better way of cooking than us,it seems that their cooked food can still be "living" and when they do cook they do a lot of pickles(somtimes raw ) and,steaming-usually shoyu is fermented-but the question is-is it cooked after fermentation??? Maybe you could email the company?......

lol nama shamu???........they must have thought you were a REALLY hungry sushi chef! :p

[DotfromOz]

I think the japanese have a much better way of cooking than us,it seems that their cooked food can still be "living" and when they do cook they do a lot of pickles(somtimes raw ) and,steaming-usually shoyu is fermented-but the question is-is it cooked after fermentation???

Yes, soy sauce is definitely made from cooked ingredients; the sauce itself is not cooked.

See the following from Ask Jeeves: "There are essentially two methods by which soy sauce can be made: by fermentation or by blending.

"Making soy sauce by blending is essentially mixing together water, salt, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins [which most of us here would NOT want to eat!], and colour. It takes perhaps three days, depending on the equipment.

"The fermentation, or traditional method, starts with steamed soybeans, and ground roasted wheat. These are blended on large tables, to which a proprietary seed culture, called koji, is added. With humidity, warm temperature and aeration, the koji grows over over a period of three days. Once enough growth has taken place, the mix is poured into tanks and mixed with brine. This mash, called moromi, is left to ferment for six months."

I agree with you that Japanese cooked foods are healthier than most American ones as they are generally not cooked to death and still retain most of the bright colors of the veggies when raw. However, I disagree that any of their cooked foods could be living as wok and teppanyaku (table-grill) cooking are both done at such high temperatures for long enough that there's no way that the resulting foods could retain the enzymes we want in our food.

Yes, the Japanese do a wide variety of raw pickled foods which are technically living. However, unless a person used all raw vinegars and soy sauce where added, such pickles would not be compatible with a raw diet for most of us. Personally, I wouldn't bother going to all the hassle of making an authentic Japanese pickled anything with all raw ingredients as I don't like pickled foods that much.

As for steaming, it would still raise the food's temperature far too high, although more briefly so than most American cooking methods do, for any such food to be considered "living" by our standards. The reason why so many dieticians and even some MD's recommend steaming is that it is done without fats or oils and is far healthier as cooked food goes for that reason.

[VeganVixen]

]. However, I disagree that any of their cooked foods could be living as wok and teppanyaku (table-grill) cooking are both done at such high temperatures for long enough that there's no way that the resulting foods could retain the enzymes we want in our food.

.



when I said "living" I meant fermented, like nama shoyu is cooked but fermented , thus living.......they seem to do alot more "uncooking"than us westerners who char things to death.exept for the macrobiotic diet ,were they eat cooked rice beans ect....

[DotfromOz]

when I said "living" I meant fermented, like nama shoyu is cooked but fermented , thus living.......they seem to do alot more "uncooking"than us westerners who char things to death.exept for the macrobiotic diet ,were they eat cooked rice beans ect....

Well, I think we may be misunderstanding each other's use of the word "cooked" as what you appear to mean is "prepared" rather than heating foods. Maybe I'm misinformed, but I thought our whole point here is that Nama Shoyu is not made from cooked ingredients at all.

I've cooked both Chinese and Japanese for about 4 years now, and while a person might do less cooking when eating Japanese foods rather than American ones, I still maintain that Japanese cuisine on the whole is healthier for reasons other than its percentage of raw to cooked foods since most Japanese wouldn't be using raw shoyu and raw vinegars.

For instance, I asked the elderly Japanese woman who owns and operates our favorite homestyle Japanese restaurant what she could tell me about raw shoyu. She'd politely told me there is no such thing.

[VeganVixen]

Well, I think we may be misunderstanding each other's use of the word "cooked" as what you appear to mean is "prepared" rather than heating foods. Maybe I'm misinformed, but I thought our whole point here is that Nama Shoyu is not made from cooked ingredients at all.

I've cooked both Chinese and Japanese for about 4 years now, and while a person might do less cooking when eating Japanese foods rather than American ones, I still maintain that Japanese cuisine on the whole is healthier for reasons other than its percentage of raw to cooked foods since most Japanese wouldn't be using raw shoyu and raw vinegars.

For instance, I asked the elderly Japanese woman who owns and operates our favorite homestyle Japanese restaurant what she could tell me about raw shoyu. She'd politely told me there is no such thing.

I am just confused -because soy is supposd to be cooked(meaning dead enzymes),right? then it goes through a fermentation process and if its unheated after that its nama shoyu-and I think its hard to find shoyu that isnt pasturized after fermentation.....

[DotfromOz]

I am just confused -because soy is supposd to be cooked(meaning dead enzymes),right? then it goes through a fermentation process and if its unheated after that its nama shoyu-and I think its hard to find shoyu that isnt pasturized after fermentation.....

It'd be me that's confused as I was guessing that Nama Shoyu was entirely raw from start to finish.

Hmmm...I didn't figure ANY soy sauce would need to be pasteurized as I thought the fermentation process would take care of any potentially harmful micro-critters. As it turns out, you're quite correct that it's "raw" only in the sense of being unpasteurized.

Sorry about the confusion due to my ignorance.

[DotfromOz]

Anybody know of a raw tamari? Or is there something about tamari that makes it have to be pasteurized?

I can't tolerate wheat very well so need a wheat-free soy sauce, but all the tamari I've found on websites and in stores doesn't say raw.

I loooooove the taste of soy sauce and will use pasteurized tamari if I have to, but I'd rather stay true to my commitment to eat 100% raw even to condiments I use.

[VeganVixen]

I have no idea what the difference between shoyu and tamari is?

If there was a difference I have a hunch that one uses a portion of the bean or a different age of the bean or sauce and the other uses the whole bean or is a younger bean (in the green form)or fermented longer ........

[vegangelist]

dot,

they make wheat-free organic tamari. my WF carries it...as does Central Market. ask for it at your natural food store.

kristi

[Rawsomeone]

Carol Alt's book recommends buying and using Nama Shoyu.