黒酢 - Rice & Wheat Vinegar
黒酢 denotes “black vinegar”. The kurozu I found—the only rice & wheat vinegar in Uwajimaya—with others being black, but wheat free—smells something like an acidic soy sauce. The vinegar, once diluted, begins with a mild rice taste, and ends with a stronger and long-lasting malt flavor. “Solid farmentation” produced this vinegar.
In a test soup with buckwheat noodles, the vinegar did very well:
- 2 cups cold water.
- Bonito flakes. Bring to mild boil in water, drain out once fish scent released.
- 4 medium sized Shiitake. Add to water after straining out the bonito.
- Green onion, diced. Mix with soup near or at end of cooking.
- Noodles (here buckwheat).
- Sesame seed oil (to taste). I did not use much, having mostly run out.
- Sichuan peppers (4-5 husks), ground.
- Kurozu to taste (didn’t really measure, probably could have used more).
Cook the noodles al dente, then drain and place in a bowl. Add the sesame seed oil, sichuan peppers, and a dash of kurozu. Mix the the noodles up. Then pour the soup over the noodles.
This was a very mild soup, though I wanted to emphasize the kurozu flavor, so omitted the usual miso or ginger or shallots microplaned to a pulp. However, the taste was excellent, one of my best soups to date. The early rice sweetness mixed well with the mushroom, and the malty hops made for a good aftertaste. Granted, I was hungry, having first taken photos:
One flaw: the sichuan peppers concentrated into the last dredges. Folks say to mix them in near the end. In soups with noodles, I’ve had better luck mixing these peppers into the broth early, combined with sesame seed oil. Perhaps the mushrooms soak up the flavor?
Next experiment: kurozu reduction (simmer down over very low heat with spices). This works well for commercial—this is, not hundred dollar plus—balsamic vinegars, and could provide another vector for Sichuan peppers.
Technorati Tags: food