Matsuya, Awaya, 10-year-aged Soy Sauce, 150ml
Ten years of ageing and it shows: a thick, mellow Kumamoto soy you use by the drop, not the splash.
Awaya is a koikuchi soy sauce from Matsuai Foods (松合食品) of Kumamoto, a maker founded in 1827. It is brewed from whole soybeans and wheat grown for Matsuai by contract farmers in Kumamoto without pesticides or chemical fertilisers, then left to mature for ten years. That long, slow ageing thickens the sauce and turns the flavour deep and rounded, with the salt pushed into the background. This is a finishing soy: a few drops on sashimi, scallops or steak, where you can taste what a decade does.
Why Chefs Choose This
- A decade of ageing: ten years of maturation gives a depth and softness that young soy cannot fake
- Thicker body: it clings to fish and meat like a sauce rather than running off like a seasoning
- Mellow salt: the umami and aroma lead, so it seasons without the sharp saltiness of everyday soy
- Traceable raw materials: whole soybeans and wheat from Kumamoto contract farms, grown without pesticides or chemical fertilisers
How to Use
- Sashimi: brush a little onto white fish, scallops or tuna rather than dipping
- Steak and tataki: a few drops over seared beef, or as a dip for grilled steak
- Carpaccio and crudo: dot it over thinly sliced fish with good oil and citrus
- Finishing: add at the end, off the heat, where its aroma is not cooked away
Koikuchi (濃口) is the dark, all-purpose style that makes up most of the soy sauce brewed in Japan. Most is matured for months, some for a year or two. Awaya is labelled 10年熟成醤油, soy sauce matured for ten years, which puts it in a small group of very long-aged soys closer in use to a fine balsamic than a kitchen staple. Matsuai Foods has been making soy sauce and miso in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, since 1827, and it builds this bottle on marudaizu (丸大豆), whole soybeans, rather than defatted soy meal.
Learn more: Soy Sauce: the SushiSushi guide
What does 10-year-aged soy sauce taste like?
Round, dark and deep. The first thing you notice is the texture, noticeably thicker than young soy, and then the aroma: rich and mellow rather than sharp. On the tongue the umami is dense and layered, with a soft sweetness and savoury notes that sit somewhere between dried fruit and roasted grain. The salt is there but it arrives late and does not dominate. Put a drop next to regular soy and the difference is obvious: this one lingers.
Product Details
| Type | Koikuchi soy sauce (濃口醤油), honjozo, matured 10 years |
| Name | 10年熟成醤油 AWAYA |
| Maker | Matsuai Foods (松合食品), founded 1827 |
| Origin | Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan |
| Soybeans and Wheat | Whole soybeans and wheat from Kumamoto contract farms, grown without pesticides or chemical fertilisers |
| Volume | 150ml bottle |
| Storage | Cool, dark place. Refrigerate after opening |
| Best Used As | A finishing soy for sashimi, steak and carpaccio |
How is 10-year-aged soy sauce different from regular soy?
Time. Everyday soy sauce is usually matured for months. Awaya is left for ten years, which slowly thickens it and turns the flavour deeper, rounder and less salty to taste. The result behaves more like a finishing sauce than a seasoning: you use a few drops at the end rather than cooking with it.
Should I cook with it?
You can, but you would be wasting the point. Long heat drives off the aroma that ten years built. Use regular soy in the pan and keep Awaya for the plate: brushed onto sashimi, dotted over carpaccio, or served as a dip with grilled steak and seared scallops, where a small amount goes a long way.
How should I store it?
Keep the unopened bottle in a cool, dark cupboard. Once opened, cap it tightly and keep it in the fridge. Chilling protects the aroma and slows the darkening that all soy sauce goes through once it meets air. At a few drops per plate, a 150ml bottle lasts a long time, so looking after it matters.
Ingredients and allergens
Ingredients: Water, soybeans, wheat, salt, koji.
Allergen information is taken from the manufacturer's import specification; always check the pack before use.
SKU : S1102