A South Korean grand master on the art of the perfect soy sauce
theguardian.com203 points by n1b0m 2 days ago
203 points by n1b0m 2 days ago
I delved into the world of soy sauce a few years back and id say if your looking to go beyond kikkoman, or god forbid that swill they call la choy, go for kimlan. super special, I-Jen (for something a little different), light, or aged..pearl river bridge isn't too bad either just watch out for brands with a bunch of added chemicals in the ingredients
or god forbid that swill they call la choy
An interesting note: La Choy is synthetically fermented (whatever what means!) and is usually the only alcohol-free option for those with medical or religious restrictions on the consumption of alcohol. Soy sauce is specifically listed as something recovering alcoholics taking Antabuse should avoid [1], though I've read it only rarely triggers any reaction. But there is a sometimes a reason for La Choy!
[1] https://advantagetherapy.com.au/the-impact-of-antabuse-on-al...
Pearl River Bridge has a seasoned soy sauce that's been my constant for over a decade.
Which prepared foods show off the qualities of the soy sauce best?
I feel like in most of my cooking the soy sauce is overpowered.
This is a good question. I would offer that there are at least two major types of soy sauce: light and dark. They are used in a variety of ways in Northeast Asian cooking (Mainland China, Koreas, Japan, Taiwan, Hongkong, Macao). For example, when you steam a fish (southern Chinese/Canto style), you use a combination of light and dark soy sauces. (I have no idea why, but this is a traditional recipe taught to me years ago.) Soy sauce has two primary "taste" components (previously I discussed visual components): (a) the fermented soy beans and (b) the umami (MSG/monosodium glutamate). Even if you feel like (a) is overwhelmed by your cooking, it is still enhanced by (b) which, for most people, makes any savory food taste more appealing.
For me, nothing beats raw fish (sashimi or sushi) as a taste test for a soy sauce, but I frequently use a mixture with Japanese ponzu... so ignore any expertise that I have on the matter! I am sure that each culinary region in Northeast Asia will have a different answer. You could probably interview 100 chefs from the region and get 25 different answers.
Lastly, there is a third type of soy sauce used in Southeast Asia called sweet soy sauce, or kecap manis in Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia.
Surely, "salt" has to be mentioned when talking about the primary taste components of soy? Normal soy is around 17% salt, which is a lot and really plays a part, in my opinion.
Soy sauce is meant to largely replace the salt component of your dish. If you're using so much that it's particularly salty, you're using too much.
Way back in the day, when salt was scarce and expensive, the whole point of stuff like fish sauce, miso, soy sauce, etc... was to provide salt but also cut it by adding other ingredients.
Kecap manis is delicious, I get the ABC brand. It's as thick as molasses. Wonderful drizzled over some chicken rice
Oh, sweet soy sauce is a thing in Asia? I thought it was a French invention (all restaurants here give you both savory and sweet soy sauce).
Also I just had gyozas with Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce and thought it's a good test for it.
Once you step outside the usual suspects like Kikkoman, there's a whole world of nuance out there.
La choy is to soy sauce what Maruchen is to real ramen or Kraft to French cheese. Try San J, available in most 'health' grocers, eg Food Hole, Sprouts, etc. it's not fine, but it's good.
> La choy is to soy sauce what Maruchen is to real ramen
Oh come on now, surely Maruchan deserves a bit more credit...at the very least, no one is breaking the bank while desecrating their soul.
In contrast, at my local Walmart, a 15-oz bottle of La Choy is priced +50% higher than its (subjectively superior) Kikkoman alternative of the same size!
I'm enjoying the throes of salmonella presently and it all seems unappealing. The fucking pain. But even in this wretched state, I have some memory of desire for Paldo, but none for Maruchan.
Yeah, I'm in genuine agony, probably preparing to puke from all holes, and I'm reading HN... while writhing and moaning.
I guess you could say I'm sick. And so is la choy
https://www.seriouseats.com/do-you-know-your-soy-sauces-japa...
There are lots of different types of soy sauce catering to different uses.
Fermentation is such wonderful technology. It both preserves and makes things more delicious.
I got into making hot sauces recently. I didn't really care for any of the results until I started fermenting them. Chop up ingredients, add brine, put everything in a jar with a fermentation lid that allows gas to escape. Then let it sit on the counter for a week or two. blend and maybe add a bit of vinegar. That's the basic process, and in my humble opinion, it's the absolute best way to make hot sauce
(YMMV, do your own research, there are obviously risks to letting food sit out at room temperature for two weeks)
It's kinda wild how fermentation does both - keeps food from going bad and somehow makes it taste better. Like, who figured that out and thought, "Yeah, let’s just let this sit and see what happens"?
Arguably our tastes evolved or adapted to enjoy the flavors of fermentation. And it's not universal: a lot of people don't like the smell of cheese, or natto, or even cucumber pickles. I love them all!
"let's make this stuff go bad, but in a good way" and somehow humans created cheese, soy sauce, wine, bread, pickles, chocolate...
Isn't it more 'let's store this surplus' - then 'oh man it looks and smells different now but somehow better'.
For example cheese was likely discovered when people tried transporting milk in water carrying bags made from sheep stomachs. While carrying water in them would be fine, putting milk in there for a couple of unrefrigerated days would lead to cheese from the rennet in sheep's stomach that would stay on in the vessel, even after it has been cleaned and even dried.
Same with wine - let's store some fruit juices - it is pretty hard NOT to make wine unless you know about pasteurisation, and even if you do boil it, there are so many natural yeasts just ready to make wine.
Grains that get wet actively want to produce beer :)
Wholemeal flour is chock full of wild yeasts, and wants to become a sourdough starter if you just give it a little water and time.
So much of human society relies on the byproducts of other organisms. Pickles, bread, antibiotics.
Yoghurt + Kefir + Kumis.
Golden Horde conquered the known world fueled by milk byproducts.
Aside but I've always hated the phrase "known world". It means "known to the Europeans"
"Known world" in the context of history usually means Eurasia + Africa. Basically all the places that aren't the new world and random islands in the middle of nowhere.
It also makes things rotten. The difference between spoilage and fermentation/aging is whether humans like the result at the end.
> The difference between spoilage and fermentation/aging is whether humans like the result at the end
Is not whether it makes humans unwell quite an important factor..
Liking the result at the end in a qualifier that encompasses "does not make me ill", "does not taste terrible", and various other factors.
The difference is whether humans get ill or not.
People get ill from alcohol, yet it's called fermentation.
No, people get ill from excessive quantities of alcohol.
Acetaldehyde is always toxic, so no, they always get sick, just less sick.
Getting drunk is literally poisoning yourself. Some humans just happen to enjoy the symptoms of said poison.
Kind of reminds me of dolphins taking turns chewing on pufferfish, apparently for fun/altered states.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dolphins-seem-to-u...
Most people aren't getting drunk every time they drink.
Try wine and grape juice side by side. Baring truly awful wine, the wine will taste better (I suppose you could have awful grape juice too, but, you get the idea).
> Try wine and grape juice side by side. Baring truly awful wine, the wine will taste better
The unfermented juice of wine grapes has many similarities to the wine it would produce if fermented. "Grape juice" is usually pretty one note, just sweet.
Taste is subjective. To people not used to consuming any alcohol the wine might taste worse than plain grape juice.
Sure, but it's a taste people have spent a couple thousand years working on, and it's remained popular through huge changes in culture and diet. People clearly like it.