Drip-brewed soup by Kikkoman
Instant soup and drip-brewed coffee are two things that are already familiar to everyday people like us, but consider this: drip-brewed soup. Back in December 2021, Kikkoman sought to bring this franken-creation to life by launching a crowdfunding campaign. Through this product, the brand – best known for their soya sauce – seeks to re-envision soup as a beverage.
Drip-brewed soup by Kikkoman and how it works
Kikkoman, a Japanese food manufacturer whose most famous product is their soya sauce, is the genius behind the convenient drip-brewed soup. The drip-brewed soup is also known as Yohaku Drip, and you can check out their official website here.
Image credit: Makuake
The steps to making yourself a cup of soup are simple – boil some water and pour it in the drip pack before letting it soak in the hot water for a couple of minutes.
Tip: you can add a pinch of salt according to your taste!
Image credit: Makuake
Healthy soup with complex flavour profiles
The appeal of Kikkoman’s drip-brewed soup, as opposed to instant soup packets, is that it contains no artificial flavouring. All the flavour comes from the dried ingredients in the sachet.
Image credit: Makuake
One look at the components of the drip-brew sachet will tell you that Kikkoman uses real, identifiable ingredients, not artificial flavouring and dyes.
Image credit: Makuake
Kikkoman’s drip-brewed soup comes in three flavours: katsuo arabushi, katsuo karebushi, and magurobushi.
Image credit: Makuake
Ingredients used to make katsuo arabushi drip-brewed soup.
Image credit: YOHAKU Dashi: YOHAKU
The katsuo arabushi flavour comes in a green packet, and the flavour is achieved by using bonito flakes made by simmering, drying, and smoking skipjack tuna. The arabushi – or smoking – process results in a stronger smokey and fishy taste with a slightly acidic flavour.
Ingredients used to make katsuo karebushi drip-brewed soup.
Image credit: YOHAKU Dashi: YOHAKU
The katsuo karebushi flavour comes in a white packet, and the flavour is achieved by using bonito flakes made by simmering, drying and smoking skipjack tuna, but the karebushi process takes on a further step of applying mould and then drying the tuna.
This added step is then repeated a few times to further enhance the flavour, giving it a harmonic balance of richness, bitterness, and acidity.
Ingredients used to make magurobushi drip-brewed soup.
Image credit: YOHAKU Dashi: YOHAKU
The magurobushi flavour comes in a pink packet, and the flavour is achieved by using a blend of yellow-fin tuna and Hokkaidō kelp. The yellow-fin tuna is also simmered, dried, and smoked. The yellow-fin tuna yields a lighter taste, while the added Hokkaidō kelp gives more umami to the soup.
Where to get your Kikkoman drip-brewed soup
The Yohaku Drip soup will only go on sale to the public in Mar 2022, but if you are eager to try them now, you can purchase a set from an ongoing crowdfunding campaign at a discounted price of ¥1,790 (~USD15.52).
The set will include nine packets in total, comprising three of each of the flavours. You can also buy a larger set of 30 packets (¥4,820, ~USD41.80), comprising 10 of each of the flavours.
If you are willing to wait, there will be a YOHAKU Drip direct sales site where you can purchase the goods when the Yohaku Drip soup is released in Mar 2022.
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Cover image adapted from: YOHAKU Dashi: YOHAKU
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