Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is the most extremely popular condiment for both the Asian and non-Asian foods. Soy sauce is used with a distinctive number of additives to bring in flavor to a variety of foods. Soy sauce is basically brow in color and is made from fermented beans. In the market you will find it ranging from a thin liquid to a thick sauce.
The flavor of soy sauce varies depending on the brand, the maker as well as the variety. With variety, there exists the dark and light type of soy sauce. The dark variety of soy sauce is generally rich and thicker than the lighter variety. The lighter soy sauce on the other hand, is sweeter and saltier than its counterpart. These subtle variations in taste generally exist along the color differences.
Soy sauce has a very long history dating back to thousands of years ago. Many years ago the Chinese used to ferment soy beans then combine them with flour, water and salt to create a paste. It is a technique that is still relied upon to make a number of dishes.
In most cooking you will find the lighter soy sauce because it is the saltier of the two varieties. In most recipes you will find the use of the light colored soy sauce. It takes a longer time for the dark soy sauce to age than the light variety. This is because of the rich color and thick texture of the dark soy sauce. it is often recommended to use dark soy sauce for adding color and flavor to foods and marinating meat. It can also be used in stir frying rice and as a dipping sauce.
When cooking with soy sauce, it is important to consider the amount of salt you use in the recipe since the sauce itself is salty. Soy sauce requires storage at room temperature in a sealed bottle.
So how do you buy soy sauce?
As mentioned earlier, soy sauce remains to be the most essential cooking ingredient in many dishes. There are many brands available in the market hence determine the best brand can be overwhelming for a few of us. Use the following tips when shopping for soy sauce.
The first thing you need to consider is how you are going to use your soy sauce. Some people prefer using them as dipping sauce for dumplings or as an additive or cooking ingredient.
When you are out in the market read the labels on the bottles of the soy sauce. If you are going to use it raw, pick the one that has the least amount of sodium.
Consider the aging period of the soy sauce. The one that has aged for a long time possess superior flavor hence recommended. Lastly, don’t shop for the most expensive or the cheapest in the market find one that is bestselling.
