400 ml bottle - Japan
Nitto Jozo Mikawa Shojin Vegetarian Shirodashi is a plant-based Japanese soup seasoning (shirodashi) made in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Founded in 1938, Nitto Jozo is an artisanal fermentation producer known for its carefully brewed tamari-style soy sauces and restrained, ingredient-driven approach to seasoning.
Their white tamari base is brewed from Japanese wheat, sea salt, and water in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture. It is this light, softly fermented soy base that anchors the character of the shirodashi—delicate, savory, and quietly complex rather than bold or heavy.
“Shojin” (精進) refers to Japan’s Buddhist vegetarian culinary tradition, where cooking is rooted in plant-based clarity and restraint. In this version, umami is built without fish ingredients such as katsuobushi (dried bonito), instead drawing depth from shiitake mushroom, kombu (kelp), and dried daikon radish, with mirin and fermentation adding gentle sweetness and roundness.
Unlike Nitto Jozo’s standard shirodashi, which includes bonito-based dashi and added sugar, the vegetarian version relies entirely on plant-based umami sources and fermentation rather than fish-derived stock.
Ingredients typically include:
Water, white tamari (water, wheat, sea salt, rice alcohol), sea salt, mirin, dried shiitake mushroom, dried daikon radish, kombu (kelp), rice vinegar, and rice alcohol. It contains wheat.
The umami profile comes primarily from shiitake, kombu, and daikon, with fermentation and mirin adding roundness and subtle sweetness.
How to use it:
This can be used as a finishing seasoning or lightly diluted soup base. It is especially effective when added at the end of cooking to bring lift and umami to soups, noodle broths, dressings, marinades, and tamagoyaki (rolled omelets). A small amount can also enhance steamed or boiled vegetables.
Its pale color and restrained flavor make it well suited to Kyoto-style cooking and shojin cuisine, where clarity and subtlety are central. It is typically sold in a 400 ml bottle and should be refrigerated after opening.
ingredients: water, white tamari (water, wheat, sea salt, rice wine spirit), sea salt, mirin, dried shiitake mushroom, dired japanese radish, kelp, brewed rice vinegar, rice wine spirit. CONTAINS WHEAT
