A soy sauce question

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otuatail

Senior Cook
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
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235
Location
York (UK)
Hi this might be a silly question but in the supermarket I found a soy free sauce. Seems daft. I think this has got something to do with soya beans.

But what else is in this apart from the absence of soy. Also I have looked at chineese recipes that call for both dark and light. Can someone explaine this and are there areas where you would use one of the other

TIA

Desmond.
 
Desmond, Those soy free sauces are for those with soy allergies. I've never tried them, since I don't have to, fortunately. And for those with wheat allergies, tamari, and some others are pure soy sauce (most soy sauce also has some wheat in it). The difference in light (often labeled "thin soy") and dark is not just that the dark is for making the foods darker, but the flavor is sweeter, with a molasses flavor, along with caramel - the two colorings used in dark soy. Some light soys actually have a stronger soy flavor, and I often use them in combination with the dark soy, even in recipes calling for just dark. And you'll also see some double dark soy sauce, in Asian markets, as well as mushroom soy sauce, and for Thai food you'll find "thick" soy sauce, which has a lot more molasses in it than the Chinese dark, making it very thick.

Did this clarify things for you? :LOL:
 
WOW. Thanks for that. I will experiment with dark and light. I never heard of mushroom soy sauce and have checked UK supermarkets on line. Can't find this.

I am experimenting with making Chow Mein tonight and have bought some things today.

From Ching-He Huang

150g medium egg noodles
dash toasted sesame oil
300g skinless chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 tsp chilli sauce (optional)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp groundnut oil
1 red pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
150g/5oz bean sprouts
1 spring onion, sliced lengthways
freshly ground black pepper
 
I just want to clarify for those with wheat allergies, tamari often has wheat, but it is usually easy to find some tamari that is made without any wheat. Gotta check those labels.
 
And you may also find that soy sauce labeled "light" is very salty comparably.

I've found that most people seem to notice that before the "sweetness" part.
 
I bought Premium Light Soy Sauce [Lee Kum Kee]. This does state Wheat. Did some research on this.

(UK) BBC. Tamari is traditionally tied to the Japanese (vs. the more common Chinese soy sauce). It is a thicker, less salty, fermented soy sauce that contains less wheat

I don't have a problem with allergies so I will have to research Wheat allergies and the risks/dangers of it................

Just done this now and doesn't seem life threatening like nuts.
 
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Pepperhead’s explanation is right on.

Some people misunderstand and confuse low sodium soy sauce with light soy sause. They are NOT the same.

Try fish sauce, too
 
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Thanks for all your help. Fish sauce! Will have a go at that as well. Thanks for all your help.
 
I also use fish sauce a lot, and not just in my Thai and other SE Asian foods. I often use it in dishes that would normally benefit from anchovies - an easy substitute. The brand that I like that is fairly available is Red Boat. One that is stronger, but not in a bad way, is Trachang gold, which has hardly any english on the label, and that is my favorite. Back when I checked just about every brand of fish sauce, when I was first experimenting with Thai food, the cheaper Trachang was my favorite, while many I tried were so bad that I threw them out, before using them in a dish.

And something to remember when looking for both soy sauce and fish sauce - avoid the brands that have hydrolyzed vegetable protein in the ingredients list. These are what I call fake fish sauce or soy sauce. They are made quickly, by adding enzymes, and other ingredients to the fish or soy and grains, unlike the natural fermentation, which takes months, to break down the ingredients and develop the flavors. Salt, and maybe some water, are the only ingredients added to the fish for the fish sauce, or soybeans and grains for soy sauce.
 
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I've found that substituting some of the soy sauce for balsamic vinegar cuts down on the salt and imparts a very pleasant flavor in many recipes.

I never use dark soy sauce anymore as I don't like that dark color in my dishes.
I too am really fond of fish sauce, and I use it in almost all Asian recipes.
 
pepperhead212 said:
...
And something to remember when looking for both soy sauce and fish sauce - avoid the brands that have hydrolyzed vegetable protein in the ingredients list. These are what I call fake fish sauce or soy sauce. They are made quickly, by adding enzymes, and other ingredients to the fish or soy and grains, unlike the natural fermentation, which takes months, to break down the ingredients and develop the flavors. Salt, and maybe some water, are the only ingredients added to the fish for the fish sauce, or soybeans and grains for soy sauce.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a deal breaker for me. I am not supposed to have soy, except for soy that has been fermented enough. I knew there were some soy sauces that were made by some quick process that wasn't fermentation. I mostly only use tamari and miso. I don't know for sure, but I don't think anyone makes those by the "quick method". I would have been skeptical of something with that in the ingredient list. Good to know the name.
 
Kikoman brand is a naturally fermented soy sauce, and is commonly available. La Choy is an example of a brand that uses hydrolyzed grain. This means that an acid is added to quickly break down the grain and soy beans.

All I know is thaat I don't like the flavor, personally.

Here is a link that explains the 3 most comn soy dauce types. - https://www.thespruceeats.com/different-soy-sauces-and-uses-694393

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
And a lot of those little plastic packets of soy sauce, that are given away with take outs, are that fake soy. So beware...
 
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In my failed attempt at making soy sauce, My first try was a Korean Soy Sauce, which was %100 made from Soy beans, and was a 3 month process. At the same time, I attempted to make a Chinese soy sauce, which was about %50 Soy and %50 wheat. This one is at least a 6 month process. I still have a few more months to go. Although it doesn't taste exactly like sore bought, The Chinese one taste more like the soy sauce I know. My wife curses me every time I start a new project. I have crocks and jars of soy sauces at different stages in front of the window because the exposure to sun is supposed to darken the soy sauce and make it richer. Between my soy sauces , my wine and my tropical fruit plants.... there is always some kind of experiment going on ( on a happy not, my coffee plant is flowering for the first time ever ( Ive had it for years)).
 
Hi. I tried the above recipe. That is a ridiculous amount of egg noodles one third would have been better and maybe sliced mushrooms, carrots etc. Any other thoughts on this. I used a whole red bell pepper. I could not cut the chicken into thin strips but cooked the chicken slowly to make sure.
 
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otuatail said:
I bought Premium Light Soy Sauce [Lee Kum Kee]. This does state Wheat. Did some research on this.

(UK) BBC. Tamari is traditionally tied to the Japanese (vs. the more common Chinese soy sauce). It is a thicker, less salty, fermented soy sauce that contains less wheat

I don't have a problem with allergies so I will have to research Wheat allergies and the risks/dangers of it................

Just done this now and doesn't seem life threatening like nuts.
Click to expand...

I think that Lee Kum Kee brand soy sauce is absolutely the best sauce I have eve tied.
Love it.
 
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