Creating New Edo-style Flavors with MIRACORE™ - An Interview with Sohonke Sarashina-horii

Sarashina-horii's Vegan Soba

MIRACORE
It's been six months since you launched the vegan soba last October. You've created several appealing plant-based menu items, like the "Negi NIKU Seiro" using soy meat. Could you tell us what made you decide to start offering vegan dishes in the first place?

Yoshinori Horii
Actually, about ten years ago, we experimented with vegan soba for the first time.

MIRACORE
Ten years ago? That was well before vegan and plant-based diets became popular in Japan, wasn't it?

Horii
Yes, quite early on. I don't remember exactly what prompted it, but I thought it might be interesting to give it a try.

Horii
At that time, we tried using various vegetables to make the dashi, but it always ended up being overpowered by the soy sauce. The traditional Edo-style soba broth is made from dark soy sauce and bonito dashi, where the role of the bonito dashi is to "tame" the soy sauce. It smooths out the edges of the soy sauce, combining with the umami of the bonito to create a delicious broth that perfectly complements the soba.

MIRACORE
Without using bonito dashi, did you have to change the way you built the flavor profile?

Horii
Exactly. At that time, we had no choice but to dilute the soy sauce, which made it impossible to achieve the authentic Edo-style soba flavor. When I first saw MIRA-Dashi™, I was quite shocked. I thought, "This might work," and decided to give it another try.

MIRACORE
The fact that MIRA-Dashi™ can "tame" dark soy sauce just like bonito dashi... It's an effect we never imagined.

Horii
By using soy meat, we can create dishes that closely resemble meat soba, adding more variety to the menu. It's really enjoyable to explore so many possibilities.

MIRACORE
Indeed, you are continually taking on new culinary challenges.  I can see that you really enjoy creating new menus.

Reconstructing the Flavors of Edo-Style

MIRACORE
Since your founding in the Edo period, has Sarashina-horii's soba broth recipe been passed down unchanged through the generations?

Horii
Actually, my grandfather's generation saw our business close once. After that, with the support of the locals, it was revived post-war as Nagasaka Sarashina.

MIRACORE
So, at that time, Sarashina-horii didn't exist, right?

Horii
That's right. My father worked at Nagasaka Sarashina, but he had a strong desire to revive our family business. Around 40 years ago, when I was a university student, he asked me, "If you join me, we'll reopen, but what do you think?"
It was hard to say no.

MIRACORE
It's impossible to say no!

Horii
When starting this shop with my father, I apprenticed at various Sarashina shops that had branched out from our family: Tsukiji Sarashina, Omori Kaigan Sarashina, Daimon Sarashina, and Kanda Sarashina. I also learned from Edomae soba shops like Sunaba and Yabusoba.
Combining all that knowledge, I reconstructed our current shop's tsuyu (soba broth) and flavors.

MIRACORE
So, the taste of Sarashina-horii is a reconstruction of the foundational Edomae soba flavors you traced back?

Horii
Yes, you could call it a "reimportation" or "reconstruction." Even my grandmother, when she tasted it, said, "It's fine as long as you think it's delicious," and accepted it relatively easily.

MIRACORE
By that point, it had become "Horii's taste." It's clear that long-time fans are attached to the unique flavor of Sarashina-horii.

The future of vegan menus

MIRACORE
Do you have any thoughts on the future of vegan menus?

Horii
Continuity is what matters most. The times change, even if slowly, so rather than giving up because there isn't a large demand now, continuing might just make you a pioneer one day.
That's why we're making sure our operations in the shop are sustainable.
If we can provide dishes that the staff can prepare quickly and customers love, and if the joy of having a new menu every month is there, I believe our fan base will gradually grow.

Tasting the "Fried Namabu Zaru Soba"!

First and foremost, the soba is so delicious!
The high-quality soba is complemented by a flavorful dipping sauce. The well-balanced salty taste of the sauce showcases the effect of MIRA-Dashi™ C400, which "tames" the soy sauce.

The grilled vegetables, used as toppings, are also meticulously prepared. They are seasoned with the same plant-based dipping sauce and grilled using oil infused with the aroma of green onions.

The "vegan menu" is also featured on the restaurant's English menu. Thanks to word of mouth, more and more foreign customers are ordering these dishes.

Recently, even Japanese customers have started to order them, indicating that the fan base might be growing, just as President Horii mentioned.

The menu for June, “Soy Milk Stew Udon”, was also delicious. Its creaminess is sure to be a hit with foreign customers.