At Wabi Sabi, The Oberoi Bengaluru, a tasting recently offered a deeper look at one of Japan's most traditional and increasingly rare soy sauce-making practices through Tsuru-bishio, produced by Yamaroku Shoyu, a more than 150-year-old brewery on Shodoshima Island.

Tsuru-bishio is a double- brewed (saishikomi) soy sauce aged for over four years in tradi- tional cedar barrels more than a century old. It represents a pro- cess that fewer than one percent of soy sauces in Japan still fol- Iow today. The tasting was part of Kioke Dojo, which brought together a seven-course menu, with Yamaroku's rare shoyus running through the meal. The experience marked India's first Kioke Dojo experience, led by fifth-generation brewer Yasuo Yamamoto and built around a culinary collaboration between chef Yoshifumi Tashima (Namida Tokyo) and chef Randy Cultivo (The Oberoi).

The lunch began with Onion, a study in the ingredient in several forms: onion velouté, onion tofu with Tsuru-bishio and caramelised onion. It was a simple opening that allowed the four-year-aged soy sauce to sit alongside the sweetness of the onion rather than overpower it. The Mizu No Hana brought fresh hiramasa with den miso jam, house-aged miso, kioke soy ponzu, fresh jalapeno and goma abura. Here, the soy returned in a different form, worked into a ponzu that accompanied the fish, while miso added further layers to the dish. This was hands down the best dish on the menu, all thanks to the sauce that elevated the delicate flavours of the fish.

The next mostly-vegetarian course, Agedashi, reworked the familiar Japanese preparation with paneer and atsuage, served with Tsuru-bishio, daikon radish, ginger, green onion and bonito flakes. The combination made the dish feel recognisable while giving the soy sauce another context to work in. Next came Marinated Tuna and Tsuru-bishio Rice, pairing tuna with white soy sauce, canola oil and Japanese herbs, alongside rice seasoned with Tsuru-bishio. It was one of the clearest demonstrations of the menu's central idea: the same ingredient can shift character depending on how it is paired and incorporated into a dish.

The Tonkatsu took the soy sauce in a more unexpected direction. Pork was paired with tropical fruit, hot chai mustard and Tsuru-bishio, bringing together sweetness, heat and the deeper savoury notes of the aged shoyu. Then came Isobe-Yakio, grilled mochi wrapped in seaweed with a gooey and chewy rice centre topped with mini, colourful rice crisps.

The final course, Smoked Out, took the tasting into sweeter territory with espresso crémeux, kioke soy caramel, black sesame parfait and coffee granite. The kioke soy returned once more, this time as caramel, showing how a traditionally savoury ingredient could be folded into dessert while more subtly complementing the other ingredients on the plate. While this seven- course menu was only served for a day, marking its India debut, The Oberoi Bengaluru promises to serve equally appetising dishes in the future, which will incorporate Tsuru-bishio saishikomi soy sauce.