Yongxing Black Bean Yin Oil Brewed from Native Landrace Wins Top Rating at Global Pure Flavor Evaluation

"If the essence is good enough, there is no need for extra embellishment." With this belief, Yongxing White-Exposed Yin Oil has been making soy sauce for more than a hundred years, using organically cultivated native Taiwanese black beans to brew outstanding works. In the 2019 Global Pure Flavor Evaluation, both Huizhi White-Exposed Yin Oil and Huizhi Dark White-Exposed Yin Oil received the highest rating of three stars, and every drop of soy sauce brewed here embodies care for all people and the environment.

Inheriting a Century-Old Soy Sauce Factory, He Quit His Job and Returned Home to Make Soy Sauce for His Mother

Arriving in Houbi, Tainan, after passing through a large stretch of lush green rice paddies and winding left and right, you come to the Yongxing White-Exposed Yin Oil factory. Six soy sauce jars sit at the plain and clean entrance, each inscribed with "Yongxing White-Exposed Yin Oil." The upright and forceful brushwork comes from the hand of fifth-generation heir Lai Zhenwen, but the low-key man was unwilling to be interviewed, so his wife Lin Xuejiao and their children were interviewed instead.

According to Lin Xuejiao, Lai Zhenwen helped by his mother's side since childhood, but he never thought of taking over. Then one day, seeing how hard his mother worked, and with the departure of the master craftsman at the factory, he resigned from his original civil service job and returned home in the 77th year of the Republic of China to take over. "I was still teaching at school at the time, and I told my husband to go home without worry; if things got hard, he still had me."

Yongxing's soy sauce-making factory is not large in scale. The current factory in Shangjiadong is the second factory, moved there in the 81st year of the Republic of China. Lin Xuejiao describes the days of running it as "no dusk, no dawn" (Taiwanese for day and night without rest). "Sometimes at 5 in the morning we run into customers coming to buy soy sauce, and we've also taken calls at 11 at night." She said that Yongxing's operation relies entirely on the support of local residents and old customers, so every customer is treated like family.

Local Organic Black Beans, No Artificial Additives, a Century of Heritage in Dry and Wet Fermented Yin Oil

Black bean soy sauce is commonly known as "yin oil." Over a century of inheritance, Yongxing has used black beans throughout the factory and followed ancient methods to make black bean yin oil: washing, high-pressure steaming, mixing in koji starter, making koji, washing the koji, keeping it warm, then adding salt water or mixing with salt and putting it into jars to ferment. After being put into the jars, the jars are left outdoors to ferment for 4 to 6 months. Because being left outdoors exposes them to "daylight exposure," the brand was named "White-Exposed Yin Oil."

Lin Xuejiao said that adding salt water is wet fermentation, while mixing with salt and sealing the jar is dry fermentation. Wet fermentation produces yin oil with a redder color and a milder aroma, while dry fermentation produces yin oil with a darker color and a deeper, richer aroma. "The product is usually wet-fermented sauce or a blend of wet- and dry-fermented sauces, mixed in different proportions according to need."

Looking closely at the ingredients on each bottle of soy sauce, there are only four: black beans, sea salt, water, and cane sugar. "When customers ask whether it is non-GMO soy sauce, we immediately say yes, because only genetically modified soybeans exist, not genetically modified black beans." Lin Xuejiao smiled. She explained that if soybeans were used, the flavor and production process would be different, and the family has always focused on making black bean soy sauce.

Containing no chemical flavorings, caramel color, preservatives, or seasonings is a commitment passed down through five generations, but it also makes the soy sauce lighter in color and shorter in storage life. Once opened, it must be kept in the refrigerator. Holding the glass bottle up to the light, the sauce inside is clear, amber in color, and the taste is clean, sweet, and lightly beany. Lin Xuejiao said that customers report that the simple flavor is suitable for braising all kinds of dishes and can bring out a unique flavor with the ingredients.

Sparing No Cost to Support Farmers, Choosing Domestic Native Landrace Black Beans

Among Yongxing's soy sauce products, Huizhi, Lanxin, Imperial Brew, and Original Unsweetened Yin Oil are brewed from Taiwanese black beans, using native Taiwanese black beans (Pingtung Manzhou variety) grown organically throughout with no pesticides and no chemical fertilizers. Lin Xuejiao said that these are native landrace black beans. Before foreign black beans entered Taiwan, China, Yongxing always used the native Taiwanese black bean commonly known as "Pingtung Zhuzai," while the black beans used in Imperial Brew are Tainan No. 5 from other domestic production areas.

Weng Yuqun, chairman of the Chiayi County Yizhu Coarse Grains Production Cooperative, which cooperates with Yongxing and supplies the black bean raw material, explained that native Taiwanese black beans (Pingtung Zhuzai) used to be planted when farmland was fallow. But since joining the WTO, cheap imported soybeans have come to Taiwan, China, and domestic soybeans have struggled to compete on low prices. The raw materials for bean processed products such as soy sauce, soy milk, and tofu have gradually been replaced by imported soybeans.

"After resuming cultivation, many farmers could not sell the beans they grew." Lin Xuejiao said that imported black beans existed even before Taiwan, China joined the WTO, and after foreign black beans entered Taiwan, China, almost all domestic soy sauce factories switched to imported beans. Later, when Taiwan, China began restoring black bean cultivation, Yongxing came into contact with native landrace black beans around the 98th year of the Republic of China through an introduction by bean farmers, gradually began using native Taiwanese black beans to brew yin oil, and later moved to stable orders of local black beans.

Locked-Up Black Beans, Detailed Records of Process Control

"To make good soy sauce, you must have good raw materials." Lin Xuejiao said that when farmers sell agricultural products, they often seek help from processors, and for processors, one of the keys to making high-quality processed goods is the quality of the raw materials. In addition to choosing high-quality black beans, Yongxing is especially careful about storing raw materials.

Walking into Yongxing's factory, the entire environment is very clean. The high-pressure steaming pots are as clean as if newly bought, and beside them is a tightly secured iron cage covering all the raw materials. "The black beans must be 'locked up' like this so there will be no rats or cockroaches." Lin Xuejiao pointed to bags of raw materials, which are also raised on supports underneath to avoid contact with the floor.