Ingredient of the Year: the Soybean

Inspired by the Chinese calendar, restaurant Taiko celebrates its anniversary every year in September with the Taiko New Year. And on that occasion, the chef chooses Taiko’s ingredient of the year each year.

After previously choosing wagyu, wasabi and red king crab, Schilo has chosen soy this year. A little boring and not very sexy? Not in the hands of FavorFlav favorite Schilo van Coevorden. Van Coevorden is executive chef of the prestigious Conservatorium Hotel in the capital. His restaurant Taiko is known for its refined modern Asian cuisine.

Bean

Van Coevorden goes all out with this legume. From dried beans to bean sprouts to tofu, he follows the entire life cycle of the soybean. Together with his right-hand man Hugo Engels, he created a complete menu entirely inspired by the soybean. They named the menu ‘The Circle of Soya’, which I was already allowed to sample during a sunny lunch.

Soy from Rotterdam

Also remarkable: the soybeans do not come from South America or the Far East, but are grown in Rotterdam. The Hoeksche Waard is home to the only micro-brewed soy sauce in Europe. Using original Japanese and Dutch traditions, 100 percent Dutch soy sauce is made under the name Tomasu. This soy sauce is fermented for at least 24 months in 25- to 50-year-old Scottish whisky barrels. This gives the soy sauce an unparalleled rich and unique flavor (because yes, you can taste all that care and aging).

Behind the makers is a collective of Rotterdam friends operating under the name BoerBakkerBert, consisting of a farmer, two bakers who also brew soy sauce, and a marketer. After years of research in collaboration with, among others, Wageningen University, they succeeded in growing top-quality soybeans on Dutch soil. Those beans then serve as the basis for the premium soy sauce. Coevorden developed his own Taiko soy sauce with these Dutch soy producers, which he now incorporates into the menu.

Highlights from the menu:
Sprouting soy with uni and yuzu, incorporating bean sprouts, uni and sea urchin.

Sashimi of three cuts of bluefin tuna (akami, chūtoro and ōtoro) with Taiko’s homemade soy sauce with sea buckthorn.

A vegetarian ‘foie gras’ made from tofu (called ‘tofu foie’, served with brioche and umeshu – a Japanese plum liqueur).

Silken tofu with Australian winter truffle.

Cantonese wagyu glazed with soy sauce, roasted tableside on a minibarbecue in a steamed bao.

Dessert with chocolate soy leaves, miso and hazelnut.

These and other dishes will be on the menu at Taiko from now until September 2019.

Restaurant Taiko, Conservatorium Hotel
Van Baerlestraat 27
Amsterdam