How to Make Ume Soy Sauce

Steep ume in soy sauce, and you get ume shoyu: soy sauce with the fresh aroma and tartness of ume.

It’s light and refreshing poured over sashimi, chilled tofu or salads, or as a dipping sauce for somen noodles.


When to make	June
Ready	After 1–2 weeks
Storage	Cool, dark place. Refrigerate after opening

Ingredients and tools

All you need is ume and an equal amount of soy sauce. This time we added kombu and mirin to make it even mellower.

The jar is Muji’s 500 ml soda glass sealed jar.

Fresh ume are hard to find outside Japan. See finding ume outside Japan on the overview page.

Put the ume in a bowl and gently wash off dust and dirt in plenty of water. Drain and put them in a colander or on a tray.

Carefully wipe each ume dry with a paper towel.

Pick out the little stem ends with a bamboo skewer. Be gentle so the tip of the skewer doesn’t damage the fruit.

If you have time, let them air-dry further in the shade. (If you wiped them thoroughly, you can skip this.)

Sterilize the jar in boiling water. (Remove rubber seals and metal clips first.) Be careful not to burn yourself.

Put the jar in a large pot with enough water to cover it and heat. When it boils, keep it at a gentle boil for 10 minutes.

Stand the jar upside down on a clean cloth and let it dry completely.

Put the ume in the jar and gently pour in the soy sauce and mirin.

Finally, put the kombu in an empty tea bag and lay it on top, over the ume. That’s it.

Keep the jar in a cool, dark place out of the sun. Swirl it gently now and then to mix.

It’s ready after 1–2 weeks, once the aroma of the ume has passed into the soy sauce. Once opened, keep it in the fridge to prevent mold.

After two weeks. The ume have wrinkled and their juice has come out into the soy sauce. The aroma of ume rises as you smell it, very fresh.

The fresh tartness and aroma of ume make this soy sauce perfect for light dishes. Pour it straight over a boiled pork salad, chilled tofu or sashimi.

As a dipping sauce for somen noodles, it’s easier to enjoy with a little mentsuyu (Japanese noodle sauce) added. Adjust to your taste.

Ume soy sauce dipping sauce (serves 1)