History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

Japanese), published in 1590 by Li Shih-chen (Ri Jichin in
Japanese) in the Ming (Min in Japanese) dynasty, was also
made with koji manufactured by using soybeans and cereals
(Fig. 4). (In this process soybeans were cooked in water,
mixed with wheat, and spontaneously molded to form koji.
Salt water was mixed in with a paddle, then the mash was
insulated and aged. Finally it was fi ltered to make chiangyu).
The ratio of soybeans to wheat in the koji making was
3:2. This ratio is very close to that used in making regular
Japanese shoyu, which is made by using equal amounts
of soybeans and wheat, as will be described later. The
general manufacturing methods of soy sauce in the Ch’ing
(Shin in Japanese) dynasty are recorded in Ch’ing-yuan Lu
(Seienroku in Japanese), written by Li Hua-nan (Ri Kanan in
Japanese). Cooked soybeans and uncooked wheat were the
raw materials used in koji making. The resultant koji was
mixed with brine. After aging, the soy sauce was collected
by pressing a deep bamboo colander into the aged mash and
ladling out the liquid which had accumulated.
“The original chiang was a mash-type product made
with a koji that had been prepared from wheat, barley,
rice, etc., and not from soybeans. Therefore, the soybean
constituents were only changed through the in vitro
biochemical reaction by the enzymes from the mold
grown on the cereals. Accordingly, the degree of change
of the soybean constituents was not very great and most
of the soybean proteins were partially hydrolyzed into
polypeptides through the in vitro enzyme action. The
degree of liquefaction was not very large and the fl avor
was not as strong. In the case of chiang-yu, however, mold
is grown on both the soybeans and cereals and, as a result,
the soybean constituents are changed largely through the
biochemical reaction both in vivo and in vitro by the mold
throughout the entire process of manufacturing. Accordingly,
much of the soybean constituents can be liquefi ed. The
soybean proteins are hydrolyzed to single amino acids
and, therefore, the fl avor is sharp and strong in chiang-yu.
Thus, it can be concluded that (a) the progenitor of miso is
chiang, originated in China about 3,000 years ago; (b) the
progenitor of soy sauce is chiang ch’ing, originated in China
about 2,000 years ago; (c) chiang ch’ing had developed into
chiang-yu in China and the regular type of shoyu called
koikuchi in Japan at least 1,000 years ago.
“It is an amazing fact that the Chinese had utilized
the enzyme action of mold in food manufacturing as early
as 3,000 years ago. They deliberately selected yellow
aspergilli from many types of aspergilli because they best
facilitated the manufacture of chiang. If the defi nition of
‘biotechnology’ is to make the products necessary for the
welfare of humans by using life phenomena, it can be said
that people in ancient China had already produced foods by
biotechnology as early as several thousand years ago. In this
sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that soy sauce was a
pioneer of the actual application of biotechnology.
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 409
“2. Shih. Shih is a fermentation product of soybeans, the
form of which is a tasty nugget with or without salt. Shih is
classifi ed into fi ve types by the kind of microorganism used
in its manufacture. Those are Aspergillus type (called shih
in the areas of Pei-ching, Hu-nan sheng, and Taiwan; and
called hamanatto in Japan), Mucor type (shih in the area of
Shan-tung sheng and natto in Japan), Rhizopus type (tempeh
in Indonesia), Bacillus type (shih in the area of Shan-tung
sheng and natto in Japan), and Neurospora type (oncom in
Indonesia). The shih described here is the shih of Aspergillus
type, which relates to soy sauce.
“The earliest literature in which shih appeared is
Shih-chi (Shiki in Japanese) by Ssu-ma Ch’ien (Shiba
Sen in Japanese), which was published in 85 BC. Shih is
also described along with chiang in Shuo-wen Chie-tzu
(Setsubun-kaiji in Japanese) by Hsu Shen (Kyoshin in
Japanese), the oldest dictionary in China published in 121
AD in the later Han dynasty. The raw material of the shih
is soybeans as shown in Fig. 5. (In the process described
in the Shi-ching by Hsie Feng (which survives only in the
Ch’i-min yao shu), soybeans are washed, soaked, drained,
and steamed. The cooked soybeans are cooled, then spread,
furrowed, and piled. The last 3 steps are repeated 3 times a
day for 3 days until the beans have become spontaneously
molded. The resulting soybean koji is mixed with soybean
cooking liquid, barley koji, and salt, put into an earthen pot,
sealed, and insulated. It is then dried in the shade, mixed
with a mulberry leaf extract, and steamed. The last 3 steps
are repeated 3 times, resulting in salted soybean shih. In the
second process described in the Ch’i-min yao-shu, soybeans
are winnowed, cooked, drained, and cooled. They are piled,
the temperature is measured, and then they are stirred. The
last 3 steps are repeated 3 times until they are spontaneously
molded. They are then spread and furrowed to make soybean
koji. This is winnowed, washed, drained, dried, moistened,
piled, fermented, and dried to give unsalted soybean shih.)
Therefore the resultant shih (soybean nugget) contains
a high amount of protein. In shih, much of the soybean
constituents are present in a liquid state. The soybean
proteins are hydrolyzed to single amino acids and, therefore,
the fl avor is sharp and strong. The fl avor constituents of
shih can be extracted easily by a salt solution. The original
shih was served as nuggets; the brine extract came to be
used as a seasoning gradually. In Chi-min Yao-shu (535
AD), there is a description of about 70 kinds of cookeries
using shih extracts. It should be mentioned that shih and its
brine extract developed into today’s tamari shoyu in Japan.”
Address: Managing Director, Kikkoman Corp., Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo, Japan.
1313. Hesseltine, C.W. 1989. Fermented products. In: Ruth
H. Matthews, ed. 1989. Legumes: Chemistry, Technology,
and Human Nutrition. New York and Basel: Marcel Dekker,
Inc. x + 389 p. See p. 161-85. [29 ref]