Soy Sauce

Soy Sauce

 

What makes Chinese cuisine so delicious? Obviously there are the different flavors of meat, vegetables, and chilies used in the cuisine. The secret ingredient however, is the use of soy sauce in their dishes. This is the sauce that makes everything extra yummy to taste. The Japanese describe the taste of soy sauce as “Umami” which roughly translated to English means “delicious tasting/yummy.” “Umami” was identified as a basic taste in 1908 by the University of Tokyo. Such is the power and reach of the soy sauce. Deep, glistening, dark brown, or black in color, this sauce is sometimes also used to make some seriously intense cocktails.

 

Ever heard of a drink called the Black Death? Pour 1 – 1½ shots of chilled Vodka into a shot glass and add ½ ounce of soy sauce and drink on a really hot day and enjoy! How about a recipe for the Manchurian Candidate? Pour one shot of Vodka into a shot glass, add a dash of soy sauce and mint, and drink straight up. As a condiment, soy sauce can be used across a variety of cuisines. East Asian cuisines make the best use of this ingredient although a lot of chefs of Western cuisines have been making use of this condiment in their cooking, lately.

 

The secret recipe of making soy sauce is to ferment soybeans with a special fungus and then brew it in water, and some rice and grains. The brewing gives it a thick, dark brown color and texture. Its pungent aroma and a liberal helping of salt make it a wonderful condiment to be used at the dinner table. The lighter versions of the soy sauce are used on seafood, while the darker varieties are used mostly in cooking. Soy sauce originated in China approximately 2500 years ago. Salt was an expensive commodity at the time and soy sauce was most likely used as a condiment to stretch the salt, making it easily accessible to everybody.