Yokoi Su: the red rice vinegar favoured by Michelin-starred restaurants

Yokoi Vinegar Brewing Co. Ltd. is a prestigious Japanese company founded in Tokyo in 1937 and is now the only vinegar manufacturer operating in the Japanese capital. For over 80 years, it has established itself as the gold standard for Edomae-style sushi chefs, being the number one choice of over 70% of Michelin-starred sushi restaurants in Japan.

Photo :  nigiri sushi made with akazu. Source : Yokoi Vinegar

What makes Yokoi's products so highly prized is above all their akazu (red vinegar), obtained from sake lees aged for up to 10 years. Over time, the sugars and amino acids contained in the lees gradually brown, changing from white to dark brown. This maturation gives the akazu a deep, rounded and delicately sweet umami flavour. Edomae-style sushi rice prepared with this akazu takes on a brown-red hue and develops a complex aroma with malty and umami notes.

Photo : Tsutomu Takahiza explaining how sake lees are aged. Side by side, 6-month aged sake lees (left) and 9 year-aged sake lees (right). 

Tokusen is proud to distribute Edomae Sushizu vinegar, which is a blend of red rice vinegar (akazu) and white rice vinegar (komezu). The blend of two types of vinegar offers the best of both worlds: the depth of umami, richness and colour of akazu, enhanced by the brightness and freshness of rice vinegar. Seasoned with sugar and salt, Edomae Sushizu vinegar is ready to be combined with rice to make sushi rice (shari). Here are a few tips for preparing your sushi rice. First, measure 10% of the weight of the cooked rice in vinegar (e.g. 50 ml of vinegar for 500 g of cooked rice). Transfer your cooked rice to a bowl and then pour the Edomae Sushizu vinegar evenly over the rice. Using a spatula, gently stir the rice with diagonal movements until all the vinegar is absorbed by the rice (about 30 seconds).

Photo : factory visit in Tokyo