【Reading】にきりしょうゆ

【English Name】Boiled soy sauce

Nikiri-joyu is a seasoning for sushi made by combining soy sauce with sake and mirin and heating it to drive off the alcohol content. 'Nikiru' refers to the cooking technique of bringing a liquid to a boil to evaporate its volatile components, used for the purpose of removing the alcohol contained in mirin, sake, and the like. Besides boiling it down in a pot, there is also a method of tilting the pot to ignite it and finish quickly.

In Edomae sushi, rather than the customer applying soy sauce themselves, it is regarded as the traditional manner for the chef to brush nikiri-joyu over the topping of the formed nigiri before serving. Compared with raw soy sauce, it is characterized by a mellow flavor with the sharp edges removed, and it plays the role of enhancing the flavor of the topping while preventing the saltiness of the soy sauce from becoming too strong.

The blend differs by restaurant, and the finish changes depending on the ratio of soy sauce, sake, and mirin, and on whether or not dashi is added. The 'kaeshi' of soba is also a similar technique in that soy sauce is combined with mirin and sugar and heated. Nikiri-joyu is one of the elements in which a sushi chef's skill and individuality are expressed, and it is adjusted with consideration for compatibility with delicately flavored toppings such as white-fleshed fish and shiny-skinned fish (hikarimono).