Cooking Ingredients question, answers and suggestions

[XexoX]

Thought we needed a separate thread for this, and I'll start.

Soy sauces, what are some good brands for light and dark soy sauces? And by light, I don't mean low sodium. Recipes I've been finding use both, but I'm not sure I've seen them in most stores, I'll have to go to H-mart and or Uwajimaya to find them, but I get over whelmed at both stores if I don't know what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

[Chappychap]

Thought we needed a separate thread for this, and I'll start.

Soy sauces, what are some good brands for light and dark soy sauces? And by light, I don't mean low sodium. Recipes I've been finding use both, but I'm not sure I've seen them in most stores, I'll have to go to H-mart and or Uwajimaya to find them, but I get over whelmed at both stores if I don't know what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

Great thread! Thanks for starting it. My go tos include Ohsawa and Kishibori for general Japanese soy, and Pearl River (get the premium or superior) or Lee Kum Kee for Chinese. All of those can also be bought on Amazon, albeit for a couple of dollars more.

[Jeff B]

Uh...whatever is on sale at Kroger...

[stevem627]

There’s nothing wrong with Kikkoman or San-J soy sauce or tamari. I think that when I want something better I like Ohsawa, but really it’s personal taste to enjoy the subtle differences. I just like grabbing something different when I’m at H-Mart. I’ve not found something I didn’t like, but I have had many types and none stood out except for higher end brands and aged is just...better.

[XexoX]

There’s nothing wrong with Kikkoman or San-J soy sauce or tamari. I think that when I want something better I like Ohsawa, but really it’s personal taste to enjoy the subtle differences. I just like grabbing something different when I’m at H-Mart. I’ve not found something I didn’t like, but I have had many types and none stood out except for higher end brands and aged is just...better.

Thanks. I guess my main issue is, I can't find "light" soy sauce, or "dark" soy sauce and have no idea what they are or what is different about them. I did read that tamari can work as a "light" soy sauce. I've been using Kikkoman as a regular one, but don't know what to use for the "dark" one. Ugh.

[ronnie_suburban]

There’s nothing wrong with Kikkoman or San-J soy sauce or tamari. I think that when I want something better I like Ohsawa, but really it’s personal taste to enjoy the subtle differences. I just like grabbing something different when I’m at H-Mart. I’ve not found something I didn’t like, but I have had many types and none stood out except for higher end brands and aged is just...better.

Thanks. I guess my main issue is, I can't find "light" soy sauce, or "dark" soy sauce and have no idea what they are or what is different about them. I did read that tamari can work as a "light" soy sauce. I've been using Kikkoman as a regular one, but don't know what to use for the "dark" one. Ugh.

I really don't think there is such a thing as light soy sauce that isn't low sodium. That's what the term has come to mean. In my experience, there's soy sauce and there's dark soy sauce. I bought a bottle of Lee Kum Kee dark and I like it. It's a bit sweeter and less salty than the standard issue. It's mainly used for color in most recipes I see it in. When I run out of it, I'll probably try a different one and see if I like it more or less. These are all relatively inexpensive (especially if purchasing in person), so it's a fairly low barrier to trial and error.

[XexoX]

I really don't think there is such a thing as light soy sauce that isn't low sodium. That's what the term has come to mean. In my experience, there's soy sauce and there's dark soy sauce. I bought a bottle of Lee Kum Kee dark and I like it. It's a bit sweeter and less salty than the standard issue. It's mainly used for color in most recipes I see it in. When I run out of it, I'll probably try a different one and see if I like it more or less. These are all relatively inexpensive (especially if purchasing in person), so it's a fairly low barrier to trial and error.

Thanks Ronnie. I could have shworn I read in either a Grace Young or Fuchsia Dunlop book where it was said that "light" wasn't the same as the low sodium. I'll have to see if I can find it again. I'll look for the lee Kum Kee dark.

[ronnie_suburban]

Thanks Ronnie. I could have shworn I read in either a Grace Young or Fuchsia Dunlop book where it was said that "light" wasn't the same as the low sodium. I'll have to see if I can find it again. I'll look for the lee Kum Kee dark.

It's entirely possible. But my holistic and uninformed opinion is that if you have to dig that deep for an ingredient as ubiquitous as soy sauce, the variant just isn't important. If it were widely used, no digging would be required. After all, we're talking about pretty fundamental dishes here.

[gladius]

Thanks. I guess my main issue is, I can't find "light" soy sauce, or "dark" soy sauce and have no idea what they are or what is different about them. I did read that tamari can work as a "light" soy sauce. I've been using Kikkoman as a regular one, but don't know what to use for the "dark" one. Ugh.

---
Check out THIS article <<

and THIS article <<

[XexoX]

Thanks. I guess my main issue is, I can't find "light" soy sauce, or "dark" soy sauce and have no idea what they are or what is different about them. I did read that tamari can work as a "light" soy sauce. I've been using Kikkoman as a regular one, but don't know what to use for the "dark" one. Ugh.

---
Check out THIS article <<

and THIS article <<

Thank you, that was most helpful.

[stevem627]

I think you kind of hit on the question by asking about soy sauce as an INGREDIENT. We use soy sauce as an ingredient in dishes or sauces and use better soy sauce sometimes when just trying to use it alone. Times like those are reserved for sushi with our family these days. We haven't found enough difference to justify the additional cost when it's used as an ingredient. In general, we take that approach when using most things as ingredients.

[Jeff B]

[XexoX]

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I have three bottles of that! I'm trying to figure out if the jars are painted on the inside or outside.

[Mike9]

I'm allergic to soy, but I make a mean substitute that IMO tastes better than Soy Sauce. 2 parts beef broth, one part each fish sauce, oyster sauce, worcestershire sauce and a dash of Hon Dashi. Reduce that by half and you in UMAMI Heaven . . . at least I am.

[Chappychap]

I'm allergic to soy

Brutal. Just brutal.

That's one hell of an alternative you've come up with though, kudos!

[Mike9]

Not just soy either - peanuts, legumes and tree nuts as well. I acquired this @ 4yrs. ago and it took me a year to figure it out!!

[Naloos]

I use soy sauce a lot in my own recipes. Especially my family love the lettuce salad flavored with soy sauces. Since the salad cannot be stored in the refrigerator for a long time, I found recommendations on the website how to keep it longer. First, store it in the refrigerator and freeze it only if you are using lettuce for a smoothie.

[XexoX]

Another question, not about soy sauce!

In the past, when I've ordered fried shrimp at a Chinese restaurant, the dish came with a red dipping sauce that had a dab of hot mustard in it. I've been told that the red sauce was ketchup, but it doesn't taste like any ketchup I've had. So my question, what is it? And if it is truly ketchup, what kind, as it sure isn't Hunt's or Heinz.

Thank you for your time and thoughts.