A question on soy sauce for foodies

[Jane in NC]

My husband came home from the Asian grocery with mushroom flavored soy sauce which in turn led me to think about soy sauces in general. There are more varieties than just the generic grocery store stuff. Is there a soy sauce that you think is essential for the Asian cuisine you prepare at home? Do you keep several soy sauces in your pantry? Can you taste the difference between tamari and soy sauce? (I'm testing Bill with this last question. ;) )

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I don't have a specific brand to recommend. I do however recommend trying to find soy sauce or tamari actually produced in Japan. There is quite a bit of flavor difference imo. The made in the USA stuff doesn't taste "right" to me. It might not matter to you if you've never had the other though.

[Jane in NC]

I don't have a specific brand to recommend. I do however recommend trying to find soy sauce or tamari actually produced in Japan. There is quite a bit of flavor difference imo. The made in the USA stuff doesn't taste "right" to me. It might not matter to you if you've never had the other though.

 

I usually buy Japanese soy sauce too but I admit that I am not paying attention to the kind of soy I am buying. Hence the question.

[Spy Car]

I've tried a wide variety of Japanese shoyu, Japanese-USA, Korean, and Korean-USA soy sauces and tamarari. They have their differences. We do blind taste taste comparisons when we get a new one.

 

These days—to be honest—I generally use good old Kikkoman. It is not an "exotic" choice, but I can get a huge tub at our local Korean market for under $6 when they have a sale. And I decant it off into multiple glass bottles, and it lasts for a very long time.

 

I hope I have not disappointed you.

 

Bill

[Miss Peregrine]

I use Bragg's Liquid Aminos.

[kewb]

I use Bragg's Liquid Aminos.

 

 

Me too. Although sometimes dh comes home with an interesting soy sauce from the Korean market. we have no idea what it is but it tastes great.

[PrairieSong]

I use Kikkoman. That's what my mom and her Japanese friend both always used.

[Crimson Wife]

I switched over to tamari when my little one had to go GF. I'm not enough of a foodie to notice any particular difference between the tamari sauce I buy now and the soy sauce I used to buy.

[Cinder]

My all time favorite soy sauce is plain old Aloha Shoyu. It's what I grew up with. We used the full sodium version growing up but I much prefer low sodium varieties now. Since I can't get Aloha locally* I've settled for Kikkoman. It doesn't seem to have as full a flavor as Aloha, though. I have not tried tamari. I also don't care for flavored shoyus.

 

*I could mail order but we don't use enough to justify the cost. My dc hate the flavor of shoyu. :glare:

[plain jane]

I use a variety of soy sauce. We have Kikkoman but also other brands on top of it. We also have sweet soy sauces and a dark soy sauce as well. We do not use the mushroom soy sauce but only due to a dc having a mushroom sensitivity. We also use the Braggs sauce for the gluten intolerant in the family. Come to think if it, we have an entire shelf of different soy sauces. :) Dh and I use and enjoy them all, depending in the meal we are making.

[Jane in NC]

I use a variety of soy sauce. We have Kikkoman but also other brands on top of it. We also have sweet soy sauces and a dark soy sauce as well. We do not use the mushroom soy sauce but only due to a dc having a mushroom sensitivity. We also use the Braggs sauce for the gluten intolerant in the family. Come to think if it, we have an entire shelf of different soy sauces. :) Dh and I use and enjoy them all, depending in the meal we are making.

 

How interesting! What guides your soy sauce selection?

[plain jane]

 

 

How interesting! What guides your soy sauce selection?

 

Desired flavor or the overall "look" of the meal.

 

Sometimes I add a splash of dark soy sauce to darken up the noodles to give them a more authentic restaurant look without having to add too much sauce. The flavor is much stronger (but less salty) so dh does not enjoy it as much, but I like it. :). Dark soy sauce also needs to be cooked to bring out the flavor so we don't use it as a garnish like we will the light soy sauce.

 

I also use dark soy sauce in crock pot Asian inspired meals.

 

I really like the taste of sweet soy for cooking noodles or rice but do not enjoy it added into soups.

 

As for the regular sauces? What brand I use just depends in my mood. Lol. I'm not really a connoisseur, but have picked up things here and there from various Asian cookbooks.

[nmoira]

I keep four on hand: Tamari (for gluten-free guests), mushroom, shoyu, and Chinese light (not "lite" sodium, light colour).

[Laura Corin]

We keep two kinds on hand: dark and light. They are used for different recipes in Chinese cooking as they have different characteristics. I'm afraid that Husband is the expert on this, so I can't go further into detail. We buy the brand carried by our local Chinese supermarket, which is Pearl River Bridge.

 

Laura

[Jane in NC]

We keep two kinds on hand: dark and light. They are used for different recipes in Chinese cooking as they have different characteristics. I'm afraid that Husband is the expert on this, so I can't go further into detail. We buy the brand carried by our local Chinese supermarket, which is Pearl River Bridge.

 

Laura

 

Thanks Laura and others. The mushroom flavored soy sauce that found its way into my cupboard is the Pearl River Bridge brand.

[Spy Car]

My all time favorite soy sauce is plain old Aloha Shoyu. It's what I grew up with. We used the full sodium version growing up but I much prefer low sodium varieties now. Since I can't get Aloha locally* I've settled for Kikkoman. It doesn't seem to have as full a flavor as Aloha, though. I have not tried tamari. I also don't care for flavored shoyus.

 

*I could mail order but we don't use enough to justify the cost. My dc hate the flavor of shoyu. :glare:

 

 

So I was shopping in a great Filipino supermarket today and I saw that they had Aloha Shoyu from Hawaii. I needed an other bottle of soy sauce like a hole in the head, but since I'd never seen it on a grocery shelf before I picked up a bottle.

 

I'd hoped to do a "blind" taste test vs Kikkoman, but it was impossible to do alone. The Kikkoman (which has no food coloring added) was very dark, has some "body," and and has a nice aroma.

 

In contrast the Aloha (despite being artificially colored with Carmel color) is only light brown, it very thin (watery), and has a very slight aroma. There was no way for me to not know which was which.

 

The taste test pretty much confirmed the visual and olfactory clues. The Kikkoman, while salty, has a depth and complexity of other flavors. It is a "umami bomb."

 

The Aloha Shoyu, which has somewhat less sodium per Tablespoon, had far less flavor to offer other than "saltiness." No complexity. It also contains sugar.

 

By my standard the clear winner was Kikkoman. Not even a close call.

 

Bill

[Alice]

My dh (who is Chinese-American) will use anything but Kikkoman. I’m not sure why but he really hates it. I’m guessing it’s one of those “my mother didn’t use it so therefore it doesn’t taste like home cooking†kind of things. He usually buys whatever else is cheapest at the local Korean store.

[Cinder]

The Aloha Shoyu, which has somewhat less sodium per Tablespoon, had far less flavor to offer other than "saltiness." No complexity. It also contains sugar.

 

Bill

 

Oh, Bill. You have now crushed all my childhood memories. :svengo:

 

 

:laugh:

[Spy Car]

 

 

Oh, Bill. You have now crushed all my childhood memories. :svengo:

 

 

:laugh:

 

 

Sorry. Want me to ship you the bottle? :D

 

Bill