Soy Sauce And Garum

I saw this today on Fussy

From Larousse Gastronomique

Soy Sauce

The
following is taken from a traditional Chinese recipe. Boil 2.5 kg (5
1/2 lb. 13 cups) soya beans in water until they are reduced to a puree.
Add 1 kg (2 1/4 lb. 9 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour and knead well to
produce a thick dough. Leave in a cool dark place for 2 days, then hang
the container in a draught for a week. When a yellow mould appears on
the dough, place a jar containing 5 litres (8 1/2 pints, 5 1/2 quarts)
water and 1.5 kg (3 1/4 lb. 5 2/3 cups) salt in a sunny place. When the
water is warm to the touch, put the dough into the jar. Leave this
uncovered for a month, pounding the mixture vigorously every day with a
stick. The mixture will turn black as it ages.

Leave for 4-5
months without stirring or covering the jar, unless the weather is bad,
in which case the jar should be covered. Decant and store the sauce in
hermetically sealed bottles.

Who the hell thought this up,
is what I want to know. Who thought, Hmm, I need some salty black
delicious liquid to dip my dumplings in, maybe I'll just punch some
dough with a stick and then leave it out back until spring? Well,
whoever it was, whether individual or collective, I do thank you.
Because we're having sushi tonight.

I have to wonder if that's what garum would have been like.

Via Fussy